


After Everything

by Iaintnosidekick



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Going off of the theory that they're going to run away together, Kylo is protective, Maybe - Freeform, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, You Need A Teacher, am I crazy for posting this three weeks before episode 8?, but our girl can handle herself, cannon complicated, episode 8 cannon until the proposal, flipped proposal, hints of stormpiolet, its a rescue mission, lots of banter, so much Kylo and Poe banter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-07 09:52:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12838665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iaintnosidekick/pseuds/Iaintnosidekick
Summary: Something has happened. After the (predicted and probably altered) events of episode 8, Rey and Kylo Ren have gone missing and are now the most wanted criminals in the galaxy. Everyone from the First Order to the Resistance has sent their best people after them but it only forced the two deeper into hiding. The war continued on despite the upset in power their disappearances caused, but the question about what happened still lingered over the galaxy....





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was finally poking through the orange dusted sky when Rey started heading back toward the city. "City" may not be the best word to describe the rusting structures and tattered cloth she walked past. Florrum was nearly as uninhabitable as Jakku, but its placement in the outer rim and decent criminal traffic allowed for a sizable collection of buildings to be constructed within the same area. At the very least it had the population density of a city. The roads were packed with a wide variety of humanoids and aliens with their heads down and minding their own business. The planet had a history of pirates and illegal trade so it was best for Rey to keep her face under her scarf, her hands firmly on her bag, and try her hardest not to kriff anyone off.

After a couple of minutes of walking, the road opened up into a large common space. Booths were set up and covered by worn tents in an attempt to protect the vendor's questionable merchandise. Multiple languages were being shouted and the movement of the crowd quickly began to bottleneck. Rey had to slip between an arguing pair of Nikto just to keep making progress. She was nearly pushed into a mechanic booth before she finally spotted the cantina. It was mostly a large metal box with a tarp draped over it, but it had a few tables sat outside on the street and in the shade. Sitting in one, was a shadowy figure trying so hard not to look conspicuous. 

"You know, showing your face may actually make you seem less threatening," she teased as she plopped down in the seat next to him. 

Ben rolled his eyes before taking a drink from the old metal cup in his hand. His hood was pulled over his head to hid most of his face from the people around them, but Rey could easily see his eyes and nose where she sat. He was looking over something on his datapad and, after a glance, Rey saw what was probably the map of the city. "Depends. Is it the Resistance again?"

With a sigh, she snagged a piece of bread off of his plate. "I saw three x-wings on the southern ship port. Whoever gave them the tip was very confident we were here." She paused to chew on some of her breakfast. Not surprisingly, it tasted pretty dusty. 

At that, he looked up at her. "Think we can make it to our ship without running into trouble?" 

"I don't know," she replied. "It depends on who they sent." 

He didn't say anything. His fingers began to type faster on the pad as he thought over their new situation. While he drifted into his mind, Rey tried to focus on her bread. They had been considering leaving Florrum for a few days now, but for some reason, Rey had been dreading it. It was in no way the nicest place they'd been to, but it was ironically where they had been given the least trouble. 

After another moment of typing, Ben sighed and put up the datapad in Rey's bag. "Whoever it is shouldn't be a problem." 

At that Rey frowned at him. "Making a scene will only send more of them our way." 

A devious gleam trickled into his eye as the edge of his mouth curled upward. "But scenes are so much fun." 

Before her disappointing glare broke, Rey stood up and swung their bag back over her back. She shoved the last bit of her bread in her mouth as she fixed her scarf. "I'll go back to the shipyard and see if I can get any more information. Maybe I can trade in our ship while I'm at it." 

"You'll never be satisfied with a ship," he chuckled. 

"Maybe I'd get attach if we didn't get recognized so often," she retorted with her eyes already back toward the crowd. 

The sun had already begun to warm the air, causing the crowd to stick under the narrow patches of shade. People are always more irritable in the heat and she could already tell today was going to be scorching.

"Can you get some supplies before heading out?"

"Sure," he muttered with little enthusiasm. She had just stepped back into the light when he called out, "Get a black one."

She couldn't hold back her laughter as she threw him one last glance. "Absolutely not."

* * *

Kylo couldn't get the smile off his face as he watched Rey weave through the crowd. She used her slight stature to her advantage as she slipped between people and carefully stepped around shouting vendors. It was like she still thought she was scaling a fallen starship and needed to assess every single step she took in case she caused a disturbance. There was grace in it and, even if she had been secluded all her life, she flourished in the crowd. 

When they first started their partnership, they had had a rather spirited argument about staying together on foreign planets. He would never admit it, but he was really hesitant to let her go off alone. Especially after everything that had happened to them. At the time he had simply argued that sticking together would keep them from any unforeseen conflicts and reduce the risk of them being ambushed. But now he could admit that his presence alone would put her in more danger than if she actually had to fight someone. His large height and bulky body would never let him blend into a populous like Rey did, and her general pleasantness had a way of putting people at ease. It was best to let her go out for recon and let him stay back and plan out their next move. It was a good way to drive him stir-crazy and it still made him nervous, but so far the strategy was solid. Plus Rey continued to surprise him. 

Before she completely disappeared into the sea of bodies, he could just the outline of her lightsaber hiding underneath her tunic. Instinctively, his hand felt for his own strapped to his belt just to make sure it was still there. It was dented at the top. A small chip had been taken out of the right exhaust port and it was covered with the filth from at least six different systems. He hadn't been ritually cleaning it like he used to. It had become pointless to do so considering how much Kylo had had to use it to protect themselves. Ever since he hand Rey had disappeared together, they had encountered a whole new range of enemies. Of course, there was the Resistance and The First Order, but a lot of local planetary gangs, bounty hunters, pirates, and even some horrendous beasts had tried their chance at facing the galaxy's most wanted criminals. Even if teaching Rey how to spar didn't happen as much as he'd like it too, no one could say she was a stranger to combat. He had seen her take out a whole squad of Stormtroopers all by herself. 

Even if running was wearing Kylo's patience thin, he never had any regrets. There was an odd peace in what they were doing. His anger was far from gone, but he finally felt confident in his actions. There was no more doubt. No more self-loathing. There was only him, the force, and Rey. Bouncing between planets and bettering themselves. He had never felt so close to the force. It was like, for once in his life, he was doing the right thing. It was hard to have any regrets about that.

He should have known better than to let his mind be distracted by his good mood. Emerging from the dusty air, came a relatively clean looking man. There was nothing remarkable about him what so ever except that he was trying so hard to be unremarkable. Instead of trying to get through the flow of people, this man was trying to follow it. Where every other set of eyes were cast downward, his would glance in a different direction every couple of seconds before locking back in front of him. It was incredible how such an ordinary humanoid could stick out among the swath of the market. Kylo even watched in awe as he tripped over a Jawa and then nearly get into a fight with it. He was so bright eyes and lost, Kylo knew there was only one place he could have come from. Kriff, he could feel his blind optimism and sense of duty from where he sat. His mother may be good at inspiring her troops, but she needed to work on their espionage skills. 

With the resistance man distracted by the screaming Jawa, Kylo pulled out enough credits for his breakfast and left them on the table. He'd have to apologize to Rey for not getting the supplies, but with his mother's men milling around, arguing with a vendor would bring him too much attention. He couldn't imagine all of the pilots were as bad at blending in as this one, so he was going to have to take the long way back to the shipyard. It'd take him some time to see if anyone had managed to tag him, but he'd gotten to know these streets well enough to lose them. It'd be enough time for Rey to get them a new ship at least. With one last glance at the man now getting his shins kicked, Kylo backed away into the shadows. 

* * *

Rey knew the yardmaster had ripped her off. They had haggled for so long, she was ready to just mind trick him into giving her his own personal vessel. It was a star-hopper model too. But she had to remind herself they weren't looking for trouble and he probably would send some of his goons to bring it back. Not that they would have been much of a problem considering all the other characters after them. She just had a bad feeling about how much longer Ben's no killing streak was going to last. 

She stopped in front of her newly purchased ship and sighed. It wasn't as bad as she thought, but it was a still overpriced. It was a Hawk series Freighter, very old, and obviously stolen multiple times over. It even had a big burn mark on the back side of it. She wished she couldn't have found something a little faster. Maybe a fighter of some kind. But it looked in good enough shape to fly, and it, at the very least, had good looking rear deflector shields. If she made some adjustments and made it look less ancient, she could probably sell it for a higher price later when they got to a more populated planet. Besides, it wasn't like it was the worst thing she'd flown in the past year. 

Once the ramp had lowered, Rey stepped into the cargo hanger and assessed her purchase. Hydraulics looked new. Wiring was a little rusty. It was a good thing it was just her and Ben because the only two seats were the pilot and copilot chairs in the cockpit. Any other furnishing was removed to make way for the probably illegal cargo the tug had smuggled. She couldn't really see any use for the now empty space between the ramp and the cockpit, but she was sure Ben would think of something. He'd been itching for them to spar, but the ceiling was probably too low for him to stand in, let alone fight. Now that she thought about it, he'd probably just set up camp with his datapad and texts and study while it was her turn to fly. And once that was settled, he'd probably make her meditate with him. She hated meditating on ships. The sounds distracted her and the force was harder to find in the middle of hyperspace. It had frustrated her to no end, but Ben was always there to help her get going. She had gotten used to using him as a starting point, and focused on his force signature before reaching out into the emptiness of space. Even on planets, she'd do this, and it had gotten easier the more she did it. Technically meditation started with self-reflection, but Rey founded she really needed to be reminded she wasn't alone anymore. 

Realizing she'd been sucked into her thoughts, she shook her head and moved on to the cockpit. After a quick look around, she plopped into the pilot's seat and began her assessment. She looked at the dials, gauges… making sure it wouldn't explode if she tried to turn it on. She frowned as she realized yet again that the ship was REALLY old. She didn't even recognize a couple of the mechanisms on the dashboard, but it seemed to have all the normal parts of a ship. Not to mention, for once the hyperdrive was intact. She was just about satisfied with her find when she heard something behind her shift under new weight. 

Rey's Lightsaber was out and pointed before she could even get a good look at the man. Instinct from the past year or so kicked in fast, and she nearly ran the intruder through before she stopped herself. The man's eyes were big and staring shocked at her glowing blade. He'd changed a bit. Probably let his hair grow a little longer. But when they made eye contact, his smile was just the same. 

"Hey, Rey," Poe said, looking as calm as he could be literally inches from death. "How have you been?"

Shocked, there was another moment before she finally lowers her arm. "Poe," she said, not really knowing what else to do."What are you doing here?"

It's been so long. They hadn't seen each other since before everything had happened. She hadn't even realized how much she had missed him until that moment. But then she remembered the other three x-wings and she keeps her weapon on. 

He couldn't help glancing at the lightsaber before keeping eye contact with her. Now that she could really look at him, she could see he was more disheveled than she would expect. His hair looked like he had run his fingers through them maybe twice in the past week and his face had grown a bit of stubble along his chin. Even the way he carried himself was different. It was cautious, less sure, and completely lacking his usual confidence. Somehow, Rey couldn't help but feel responsible. 

"It's alright," he said probably reading her mind. As a gesture, he held his hands up and gave her a small smile. "I came here alone."

There were so many emotions running through her. Of course, the first one was excitement and happiness at seeing her friend, but she couldn't forget what happened. It didn't matter if Poe wasn't there or how it could have gone down if he had been. Poe was a part of the Resistance and they were after her and Ben. At the very least she had to keep her guard up, no matter how relieved she was to see he was alive. 

"What about the other x-wings I saw?" she managed to get out without giving away her inner turmoil. She didn't know if it really worked, but Poe nodded like he knew she'd ask that. 

"They're here meeting with a source about the First Order's new weapons facility," he told her while stealing another glance at the ignited blade at her side. "They have no idea you are here as well." 

That didn't clear her thoughts much. He sounded sincere. She could tell he was trying to look as relaxed and friendly as he could, but she couldn't disengage her saber yet. This could all turn out to be a trap and half the Resistance could be waiting outside the ship to drag her back with them. 

"And how do you know?" she countered with a small gesture to draw his eyes back toward the saber. 

"I called in a couple of favors," he explained, this time trying to avoid looking at her lit weapon. He pushed the hair out of his eyes, and Rey could see the sweat accumulating there. "It was all off the radar. No one knows I found you. The General doesn't even know that I'm here."

Rey couldn't stop her confusion from crossing her face. Poe going behind Leia's back? That didn't sound like him. He'd never go against the Resistance. She's never even so much as heard him say they had crappy food. It didn't make sense. None of it made sense. But then again, neither did the way he looked. Or the growing desperation in his eye.

"Why would you do that?" she asked no longer able to sound demanding. 

"Because," he said suddenly losing his calm demeanor. His face dropped as his eyebrows widened. Without a smile, Rey could see how much strain Poe must have been under recently. His unkempt look suddenly made sense as the man nearly broke in front of her. It was then that she realized he wasn't there to fight, but to plead. "Finn's been captured by the First Order."

Nothing moved for a moment. Everything stopped as the meaning of Poe's words registered in Rey's mind. Even her storm of emotions inside her slowed as the cold grip of fear chilled her bones and stole her breath. 

No. It couldn't be. Finn couldn't… No. That wasn't possible. They wouldn't let him…. They promised. 

Before she could spiral out of control, Rey was distracted by another shifting of weight. Only steps behind Poe Ben appeared, looming over like a shadow ready to swallow him whole at her word. But his eyes weren't deadly. His features had softened. She realized he had heard Poe and that he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Apparently, Poe had noticed Rey getting distracted by something behind him. So, concerned, Rey watched as he looked back and nearly jump out of his skin. 

"AH KRIFF!"

Ben didn't move as the man retreated closer to Rey and attempted to regain his composure. His frightened energy morphed into a nervous chuckle as he tried to gather himself. Already seeming a bit better than just a moment ago, he looked back and forth between the two and smiling widely in an attempt to play it cool. 

"You- you should really say something when you walk into a room."


	2. Chapter 2

When Finn opened his eyes, he was greeted by the same four bleak walls he had been staring at for the past eight days. Or that's as long as he thought he'd been laying on that cot. Without as much as a viewport, there was no way to judge time in that tiny box they called a cell. He only assumed he'd been there that long because that's how many times he'd passed out and woken up in the same place. Of course, there was no way to determine how long each blackout was, but he assumed his body was still following its normal sleep cycle. 

The cot squeaked as he sat up to look at his wall properly. Its lined panels swirled for a moment as the thumping in his head reminded him of its presence. It would grow unbearably loud anytime he moved, but eventually it would calm into a low rumble. Once it did, he built up the courage to feel for the nasty wound on the back of his head. It stung when the pads of his fingers touch its edges, but at least he didn't feel any new blood. It was still hot and sticky, and Finn knew it would only get worse if it didn't get treated soon. Not that he thought his jailers would care. They hadn't so much as turned off the light since he'd first woken up in that cell. Beyond a small packet of portions appearing every time he became conscious, Finn didn't know if there was anyone beyond those gray walls. He had begun to think that he had simply been locked in there before they threw away the key. 

But of course, that wouldn't have made any sense. At least not if he'd been captured by the First Order like he'd assumed. Since defecting to the Resistance, Finn had become too high profile a traitor to simply ignore. He'd given up multiple access codes, ship schematics, and even a rundown of their chain of command. Anything that would cause a dent to their cause. His espionage work alone should have earned him a public execution with Phasma personally pulling the trigger. 

But no, he was sitting in an isolation cell without so much as being questioned. It didn't make sense. Neither did keeping putting him in a cell just to die of an infection. 

Carefully, Finn began his ‘morning' routine. He stood up, waited for his head to stop screaming, and then took the two steps to a tiny refresher. There, he washed his head wound then best he could without making it bleed again. Then, he stepped over to the slot in the far wall that held his daily portion. It was another chunk of meal bread, but Finn ate it anyway. 

The lack of food and the wound burning into his skull had taken a real hit to his energy levels. It took all he had just to stand, but he made himself do it anyway. There had to be someone watching him, and the last thing he wanted to do was show them any weakness. If he was going to die in here, he was going to die with as much dignity as he could. 

When he sat back down on the cot, Finn was suddenly startled by a loud beep coming from the beyond the walls. He hadn't heard anything in so long, it took a moment for him to realize he hadn't imagined it. It wasn't long enough to determine where it came from, but he was sure it didn't originate from within the room. He had just sat back down on the cot when the wall in front of him turned translucent. 

It was like having the world open up. Suddenly, the cell he had been trapped in doubled in size and occupants. Finn couldn't move as he tried to process what had happened. One moment the wall was grey, and now it was glass looking into another room. 

There was nothing unique about the second room except for a man standing in the middle of it. He stood out brightly against the steely panels with his dark uniform and flaming hair. The man was pale, even more so that the average first Order Officer, but he held himself like he was the most important being in the galaxy. His eyes were dissecting Finn as they stared at each other, and then his wiry lips twisted into a sneer. It took Finn a moment to overcome his shock and consider who he was looking at. 

"FN2187," the man stated with as much delight as his smug looking face would suggest. "I assume you know who I am."

It was the man's voice that made it all click for Finn. He'd heard that pompous tone for most of his life as he was forced to consume First Order propaganda and stand through long rage-filled speeches. It was odd to see the man so close, but Finn would have been lying if the general didn't match every evil warlord he had dreamed up as a child. 

"Hux," Finn answered. His voice sounded harsh in his mouth, no doubt from lack of use. He forced himself to sit up straight and ignore his pounding wound. He wasn't going to give this man the satisfaction of seeing him weak. 

Hux however, didn't care to comment if he noticed Finn's strong-willed demeanor and began to speak again. "It's been such a long time since you've been aboard my ship," he said obviously enjoying the sound of his own voice. "You've been pretty busy."

Finn didn't speak when Hux paused to look at him. He may not know what was going on, but he was not going to add to Hux's enjoyment of the situation. If there wasn't a thick glass wall between them, Finn probably would have clocked him in the nose by now. Twice.

From behind his back, Hux pulled out a holopad and flipped through a few pages of text before stopping on one of them.

"You've collected quite a few charges for yourself. Haven't you?" Dramatically, he cleared his voice before continuing. "Treason, espionage, sabotage, aiding in a prisoner escape… two accounts. You even put a sizable dent in our weapons manufacturing." 

With a sigh, Hux put down the holopad and shook his head. "I'm afraid there's no way you're going to get out of this one."

"Then why don't you call Phasma's replacement?" Finn snapped when he found his voice again. "I'm sure you're too busy to deal with Stormtrooper matters."

"Oh don't belittle yourself, Finn." He spat his name like he had bitten down on a tart fruit. Hux stepped closer to the glass so Finn could see the madden glee in his eyes. "You are one the Resistance's most valuable assets. Not to mention you are a dear friend to one of our most wanted criminals."

The heavyweight that had been growing in his stomach suddenly dropped. He'd always known Hux was a madman, but having his entire focus laser fixed on him made him ten times worse. It took all of his strength to try not to shrink as far away from him as possible 

"So what?" he manages to stutter, "You're just going to let a traitor go unpunished."

"Oh no," Hux smirked, "I'm just simply going after a much larger prize."

A loud bang suddenly brought Finn's attention back to the slot in the wall. It had miraculously grown taller and produced a spherical droid. It hummed as it floated in the air, but Finn didn't like the way it turned to honed in on him. 

"Try not to harm the Medical Droid," he heard Hux say as the glass began to darken, "I don't want you dying on me just yet."

* * *

Poe had never been more uncomfortable in his entire life. He was sitting in the pilot's seat of an ancient freighter, Rey was sitting across from him in the co-pilot's seat, and Kylo Ren was leaning against the door frame. If he had been asked what he thought would happen that day, there was no way he would have predicted this.  
His plan had been to get Rey alone and plead with her to come with him but that apparently backfired and now he had kriffing Kylo Ren watching every little move he made. Poe didn't need the force to know that Ren was not happy to see him and that he was ready to strike if he so much as mixed up his words. It didn't really help calm his nerves any. 

"You'd better start talking," Ren warned in his dark tone. Even without the mask and cloak, the man was intimidating and there was no way Poe could make a run for it if he tried. 

Rey however, shot a glare toward Ren before giving her full attention to Poe. Despite their initial confrontation, Rey had melted back down to the girl he used to know and there were no words to describe his relief. She had stopped Ren from throwing him out into the rust filled dirt and she had sat him down so he could tell her the whole story. Poe didn't know what to expect considering all he had heard recently, but he was happy to find her not too changed by a year with Kylo Ren. 

"You can start whenever you're ready," she assured him and added a quick smile at the end. 

Poe nodded and gave Ren one last glance before trying to focus on Rey. "It was a couple of weeks ago. Closer to three. Finn had gone on a mission to contact a group of defected Stormtroopers."

"More Stormtroopers are defecting?" she interrupted with a soft wonder in her eyes

"Oh yeah, a lot have been coming to the Resistance after what Finn did," he told her, probably with more pride in his voice than he deserved. "It was a mission of him and four others for back up. It wasn't supposed to be anything serious, just information gathering. They made it to the contact point and then suddenly… they were gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Ren demanded. 

Poe didn't like how coldly the guy was taking the situation, but he decided to try and ignore him. "Like totally gone. We didn't get a distress call. No bodies were found. Nothing."

"Then how do you know it was the First Order?" Rey asked with much more empathy than the shadow in the doorway. 

"Because, about a week later, I got a signal from one of their star destroyers," he explained as he pulled out the handheld holopad he kept in his pocket. He scrolled through some of its files before showing it to Rey, "It's weak, but it definitely from Finn."

When Rey took it, Ren stepped across the room to join her. Poe watched as he loomed behind her and inspect the pad over her shoulder. She took her time to read it, tapped on a couple of things, before handing it up to Ren. He looked it over, probably checking to see if he recognized the code, and looked at Poe when he handed it back. 

"Does my mother know?" 

His words shot a hint of anger through Poe's nerves. It shouldn't have bothered him to hear the man call his mother as such, but he was also sure he had given up the right to do so. "I told her, but there's not much she can do," he replied with as level a voice he could manage, "The Resistance is still weak from our last battle with the First Order. What fighters we do have are scattered across the galaxy and we don't have enough firepower for a full assault." The last thing he had wanted to do was to come here and beg for Kylo Ren's help, but he had already made peace with the fact he was completely out of options. "Look, you two are the only ones strong enough to get into the first order."

"Oh really?" Poe watched Rey shoot up a nasty glare at Ren, but the man actively ignored it and crossed his arms. "Because, if you weren't aware, Rey and I are the two most wanted beings in the entire galaxy."

"I know," he snapped before he could stop himself. He couldn't let his irritation get him into a fight with Kylo Ren. He had to stay on mission. Focused. For Finn. "Look, I wouldn't be here if I had any other options. Finn is a traitor and a double agent. They're going to kill him and…" 

His voice broke. He didn't mean to let it happen but he couldn't stop it when it did. Poe would be lying if he said he hadn't lost sleep with Finn missing. Those had to have been the worst 3 weeks of his life. Always worried. Not all that optimistic about his chances. To be honest, he had to do this. He could not have lived with himself otherwise. 

Poe was surprised when Rey reached out and took his hand. He looked at her and saw the same warm eyes he remembered. It was good to know, no matter what happened, she was still the same person deep down. 

"Rey… I can't let him die."

It felt like an eternity as Poe waited for her to say something. Her eyes never left him, but it was impossible to gauge what she was thinking about. Somehow, she looked just as overwhelmed as he had felt, but he could understand why. If anyone in the galaxy could understand why he needed to save Finn, it was Rey. She had been just as close to him as he, and Poe knew there was no way she didn't want to rush off with his to save him. But he also knew she had other things to consider. Specifically, the dark figure still standing behind her chair. 

"I'm," she began before taking a breath, "We're going to have to think about it for a bit."

With a small smile, Poe nodded and reached back into his pocket to pull out a small comlink. "I'll be on the planet for another cycle," he told her before placing it into the hand that had been holding his. "Call me when you're ready or if you need anything."

Rey returned the smile before nodding. Not sure what else to do, Poe stood up and headed back toward the hangar door. He didn't turn back as he waited for it to open or even when he was blasted with the fiery afternoon air. 

* * *

Kylo's day had just gone from okay to completely wretched in what he would consider record time. The only reason he hadn't choked the arrogant little pilot and thrown him back into the filthy Florrum air was that Rey had spotted him walking in on them. The man was practically groveling at her feet and it took all of his willpower not to make sure he didn't wake in the dust with the worst headache of his life. The nerve… showing up here and looking for help after everything the Resistance had done to her. He was lucky Rey was such a good person or it would have been a much better day for Kylo. 

After the man had said his piece and left, Kylo sat down in the pilot seat to give Rey time to think. She hunched over with her elbows balancing on her thighs, tapping her fingers on her chin. Without even brushing against her mind, Kylo could feel her thoughts spinning as she weighed out all her options. He knew she already made her decision, but it was nice to know she was at least considering his opinion. 

"We can't do it," he told her after he was sure she was ready to speak.

It took her another moment, but she finally sat back up and looked at him. Worry was radiating off of her, but she was still relatively calm. "We have to Ben," she said, already convicted by the pilot's words. "Finn is going to die if we don't."

"So?" he replied before he can stop himself. Rey immediately looked hurt, so he took another breath before starting over. "Sorry, what I mean is there is no way we could get him out. At least not with all of us alive."

"We have to try!" She snapped before standing. With a frustrated grunt, she headed to the doorway and began to pace. Her hands began to move wildly with her word and her volume was rising. "I can't just leave him. He's probably hurt and scared. Who knows what they've already done to him."

"I do," he told her probably with more force than he meant to. "I know exactly what they're doing to him and I promise you it will look like a mercy compared to what the supreme leader will do if we get caught."

"I don't care!" she shouted as her hands flew up. Above her, the doorframe began to rattle. Immediately her eyes widened and her breath quickened in surprise. Quickly, Rey put her hands down and had to take a couple of breaths before the shaking stopped. Once everything was quiet, Kylo looked between her and the doorframe with an intentionally neutral expression. She was glancing at him like she expected he’d say something, but he kept his mouth shut. The last thing they needed was for him to go on another lecture about watching one’s emotions. Satisfied with his silence, Rey took a step back and closed her eyes. She needed a few seconds to center herself plus a couple more breaths before she spoke again. "I'm tired of running." 

All the frustration built up inside of him disappeared. He hadn't seen her so sad and conflicted in a very long time. He wanted so badly to rush to her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but he still was holding onto his instinct to keep her safe. 

"Finding texts and fighting bounty hunters is not a fulfilling as it used to be," she continued, this time with her hands held together, "I need to do some good in the world again. I need to help my friends."

"By helping the Resistance?" Kylo looked down at his hands even as he said it. The memory of what they did came bubbling back to the surface and he couldn't look at her. "Rey, they betrayed you. They didn't trust you and they didn't even care what happened to you."

"Not Finn," she said as she lowered herself back into the co-pilot seat. He still didn't look up at her, but she spoke anyway. "Finn had nothing to do with what happened with the Resistance."

"What about the pilot?" he countered with his earlier bitterness leaking back into his words, "I don't recall him being much help to you."

"I don't care." 

Now it was his turn to have his hand be taken by Rey. She tried to peer into his mind, but he could tell all she really wanted him to do was look at her. He kept his eyes focused on her hand and how he seemed monstrous by comparison. 

"I need to help, Ben. We can't stand by anymore." 

Finally, he met eyes with her. She had nothing but calm within her and she presented only her undying conviction to him. She was right. She was always right. There was no way she could stand by and let one of her closest friends be sacrificed to the First Order machine. It wasn't in her nature before and it definitely wasn't now. It didn't matter how grim the horizon looked or how great the risk. She was going and what she was really asking now was if he'd come with her. He could never be as loyal to anything as she was to her friends, but the least thing he could do was to make sure that it didn't get her killed. 

"Alright," he said finally. A wide smile broke out on her face and he felt the immediate need to stop it, "But I have a bad feeling about this."

"We'll be fine," she promised with that giggly smile still on her face, "It's you and me against the entire First Order. What could go wrong?"

They both laughed for a while as the reality of their new situation set it. Kylo found himself holding Rey's hand more tightly before standing up to face it. 

"We still need more supplies," he reminded her. 

"You go," she suggested while her eyes glanced back at the dashboard, "I'll work on making this thing more battle ready.Contact Poe. Let him know we're both in." 

One of her hands reached into her pocket and pulled out the little comlink the pilot had given her. Kylo groaned as he took it. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled." 

Rey laughed. "Well, he can get over it. He needs as much help as he can get."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luckily for you guys, I wrote a couple chapter ahead and I'm impatient. A lot of talking in this one but it's necessary to get our plot rolling. I promise next chapter will be more action-packed :P Thank you so much for reading and Pretty Please comment down below! Honestly, Comments make my day and I promise I will reply to everyone to show my appreciation ^.^


	3. Chapter 3

Unfortunately, his team's informant never actually showed up. 

While Poe waited for Rey's answer with much anticipation, he had met up with the other pilots just to find out their trip was a bust. It wasn't the first time the Resistance had gotten a bad tip, but it made leaving them that much more difficult. He had hoped the general would at least get some good news when they came back without him, but Poe could already see the look on her face when they told him he had abandoned them. Annoyed, but not overly surprised. He hated disappointing her, but that was the least of his worries. As he wandered around the tiny decrepit city, Poe couldn't help but think about what would happen if he didn't get Rey's help. 

He'd already gone through every known Star destroyer schematic in the Resistance's archive, he'd burned through every report he could find about recent First Order activity, and he'd even gone through some of Finn's old informant sessions. No matter what plan he came up with, it all ended with disaster. 

Even if he made it onto a Destroyer, there was no way he was well versed enough in First Order protocol to blend in. The newest information about the Stormtrooper program was that they were more restricted than ever, and the recent shake-up of power had everyone on edge. Just walking in there would be like disturbing a nest. It wasn't going to go down well, even if he got help. 

From a distance, Poe noticed a large group clumped together in the crowd. They were assorted and loud and generally screamed trouble. Not being in the mood, he decided to duck into the nearest tent. It turned out to be a business of sorts, but Poe didn't have a chance to figure out what they were selling. The comlink in his pocket began to make a high pitched beeping noise, so he quickly stepped through a large gap in the tent’s side. He found himself in a storage area with tall shelves and mechanical parts piled on top. It looked empty enough, so Poe fished out the comlink from his pocket and pressed the top button to answer it. 

"Rey?" he asked while trying to keep his voice low. 

"Afraid not," an unpleasant voice replied. 

"Ren?" Poe gave the room one more look around before hissing into the speaker, "What happened to Rey? If you hurt her-"

"I didn't hurt her you idiot," Ren snapped. The speaker distorted his voice when his volume got too high which reminded Poe of the mask he used to wear. "She's working on the ship. We're in."

Poe's eyebrows creased, "We?"

The groan that came out from the speaker just about summed out how Poe was feeling as well. "Look, let's just get one thing clear. I don't care about you or the traitor."

"Good to know," Poe muttered to himself. 

"All I care about is Rey not getting killed on your little suicide mission."

"Sure," Poe grumbled. He glanced back out to the main store to distract himself from Ren's babbling. "I'm sure care very deeply for the girl whose life you ruined."

Ren's silence was cold and deliberate. Poe was sure if they were talking face to face, he'd be trying to force choke him or worse. "You don't know anything, Dameron," he spat. "You may be Rey's friend but I will kill you if you so much as-"

The man was still talking, but Poe's attention was drawn away to a customer of the store. He was conversing quietly with the store owner, but what caught Poe's eye was the way he was dressed. He didn't exactly stick out among the criminal populous, but he did look cleaner than most. He was also packed with a heavy blaster strapped to his back, and at a whole array of weapons and tools on his belt. And if that wasn't bad enough, he had a very familiar symbol displayed on his shoulder. 

"Hey Ren," Poe whispered into the com as he ducked back into the storage area, "Have you two had any problems with bounty hunters?"

His silence was all the answer he needed. Thinking quick, Poe made his way toward the back of the room to try to find another way out.

"How many do you see?"

"One for now." There was a rip in the tarp and he headed toward it. "But I doubt he's alone for such a high profile catch."

"Head back to the ship," Ren commanded suddenly sounding less hostile and more critical. "If he saw you take an extra lap around the block. I'm going to try to distract them."

"You're going to take them all on by yourself?" Poe exited into what looked like an alley. After looking both ways, he decided to turn right. 

"I'll lose them," he assured, "Tell Rey to finish off and prepare for takeoff." 

Apparently, there was no room for argument, because Ren clicked off and the com went silent. Poe sighed, kept heading away from the bounty hunter. There was no way he should have known Poe was connected to their target, but Poe decided to take Ren's advice anyway. 

* * *

Once he knew what he was looking for, it didn't take long for Kylo to spot the suspicious figure following him. After he hung up on the pilot, he immediately felt out through the crowd for any anomalies in the Force. It was the man's frustration that made him easy to find. 

Despite the loud draw of the crowd, Kylo was easily able to feel his thoughts and make sure he kept a sizable difference between them. Instead of keeping in the shadows, Kylo walked in the middle of the crowd and stood straight up to make him even easier to see. There had to be more than one of them following him, but for now, he focused on reeling in this one. 

If he had to guess, Kylo would say that the Bounty hunter was from the same group that had run them off of Taris. Without tipping him off, Kylo brushed against his mind to see why he was so frustrated. Annoyance rolled off of him in waves and it was only heightened by his exhaustion. He was currently trapped in a train of thought about how ready he was to just blow Kylo's head off and get his cut of the credits. It was pretty graphic and long-winded for such a simple minded individual. Kylo was surprised he had the brainpower to realize if he killed his target he'd have no one to follow to the girl. If anything, the bounty hunter amused Kylo and made the thought of killing him so much more appealing. 

The flow of the crowd turned Kylo to the right and he took the opportunity to lose his stalker. He spotted a small opening between two vendors leading into a narrow alleyway. Crouching until he wasn’t towering over the crowd, Kylo drifted toward the side of the crowd. The shade added even more cover as he approached the opening and slipped in without anyone noticing. He'd lost the bounty hunter's mind, but it was unlikely he was astute enough to figure out what had happened. 

Assessing the buildings to each side of him, Kylo looked for a way up to the roofs. Recalling what Rey had taught him about climbing unstable structures, he spotted a drainage pipe and tugged it harshly. It held decently enough, so Kylo took his chance and began to climb. 

At the top, Kylo was immediately blinded by the Florrum sun. It had begun to tilt toward the horizon but continued to bake the planet. The metal roofing clicked underneath Kylo's weight as he surveyed the city. To his left, he could make out the shipyard, and straight in front of him led to a wasteland. If he went that way, he could head them off in the desert and take them on there, or he could just lose them on the roofs and curve back to the ship. The one following him had been carrying some heavy artillery and Kylo didn't know if he could take more than five of them at once. Then again, if he didn't get them out of the city it would put the populous at risk. Who knew what a city of criminals would do if they were suddenly in the middle of an attack. 

Deciding on the wasteland, Kylo began to sprint across the roof. The alleys were no wider than his arm span, so jumping over them was more like an extended step. No one paid him any mind as he bounded across the city at a breakneck speed. It'd been so long since Kylo could actually exert himself and for a moment he just enjoyed the opportunity to do so.  
It was nice until a blaster bolt hit him squarely in the back. 

"Kriff!" he yelled before tripping over a loose roofing tile. 

The whole structure shook as it absorbed the impact of Kylo smacking face first onto the burning hot metal. The impact site on his back had already begun to sting, but he didn’t have time to think about it.  
A shout rang out over the roof and Kylo forced himself to face his attackers. Standing up on shaky legs, he saw there were three of them standing together on the roof he had originally climbed onto. One of them had a long ranged blaster aimed at him and judging from the distance between them, Kylo assumed they were a marksman. Next to that guy was the bounty hunter that had been following him, armed with a blaster pistol and ready to fire. Just above him was the last on hovering on a jetpack and holding a classic DL-18. 

The marksman let out another shot, but Kylo was able to duck out to the way this time. It hit one of the taller building behind him and showered sparks on the crowd below. The stalker began to charge, screaming maniacally. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Kylo held his ground as he drew closer. His blaster began to shoot rapidly, but his aim was wildly off. Kylo hardly had to dodge to make sure he wasn't hit again. He needed him closer. Just a bit closer. 

When the man was only ten feet away, Kylo reached for his belt and activated his weapon. It hissed and snapped as it ignited slowly, as if in protest his recent neglect. The red blade cracked in the rusted air and Kylo could the feel the charging bounty hunter chill with fear through the Force. His footing slowed but it was too late for him. Unable to stop his approach, Kylo only had to place his blade in the right spot for the man to impale himself. His saber cried out in joy and hummed happily when the man grew still. It demanded to be used again, and to its luck, the man's comrades had already begun to fire. 

Casting aside the now dead man, he lifted the burning weapon up to deflect the sharp shooter's bolt. When another shot came his way, Kylo brought up his weapon to angle it back to the marksman. With a cry, the second bounty hunter went down. More determined than ever, the last one fired his weapon sporadically as he flew toward Kylo. The jetpack spat behind his boots as it gained speed and brought him closer and closer to Kylo. It only took Kylo a moment to realize the man planned to knock him right off the roof. Just before he could be sent back down to the dusty ground, Kylo ducked out of the man's reach and turned back on his heel. Before the jetpack could even curve its path, Kylo reached through the force and slammed him into the next building. There was a satisfying crunch of metal before the bounty hunter fell into the alley and out of Kylo's view. 

With the air suddenly silent, the wound on Kylo's shoulder began to whine. It wasn't too bad, but he used it as an excuse to catch his breath and assess the damage. The blaster bolt had torn through his shirt but thankfully it didn't leave too much damage. It confirmed his suspicion about the bounty hunters wanting him alive because otherwise, a shot like that would have left his arm in critical condition. He couldn't help smirking at their foolish confidence before looking back toward the horizon. 

With the bounty hunters dealt with, he needed to get back to Rey and off planet as fast as possible. Ignoring the protest of his shoulder, Kylo turned and raced toward the shipyard.

* * * 

It turned out the ship was amazing. Despite being older than probably Rey, Ben and Poe combined, the inside wiring and gauges looked like they had just gotten out of production. The additions made to the deflector shields were incredible, and the thrusters rivaled that of the Falcon. How a class A fighter vessel had found its way onto a law-ridden place like Florrum was beyond Rey. No, how it hadn't been stolen and dismantled was what she couldn't believe. It had to have been its clunky exterior because otherwise, the ship was near perfect. Rey was going to have to think twice before removing that burn mark.

She was in the cockpit, happily reassembling the comms system when she heard a fast set of boots come stomping up her ramp. As she sat up, she reached for her weapon out of habit but smiled when she saw who it was. 

"Poe," she beamed before standing up to greet him properly, "You're back early."

He came jogging up to the front hanger and took a moment to catch his breath. "We need to leave now."

"What?" Rey exclaimed, "But Ben's still out in the city."

"He's leading away a group of bounty hunters," he explained before moving to look over the ship. "Can this bucket fly?"

After registering what he said, Rey nodded. "Yeah it can fly, but I can't just leave Ben to-"

Just then a round metal object rolled into the hangar and landed between them. It took Rey a moment to realize it was even there, but Poe recognized it immediately. 

"Watch out!" He screamed before launching himself at her. 

They both landed in the cockpit seconds before the device exploded. It blew Rey back into the dashboard where her head hit something hard. Her vision went dark and the sound cut off with a pop. It only lasted a moment, but it was long enough to totally disorient her. She forgot where she was… what she was doing. People were shouting. Someone was shouting at her. It was hard to tell, but even with limited senses, she could feel their alarm. 

As her senses came back, all she could focus on was how hard it was to breathe. The air was thick and uninviting, but she needed to figure out what was going on. With a groan, she opened her eyes, and let reality sink by in. She was under attack. THEY were under attack.  
"Rey!" Poe yelled at her.  
With her world coming back into focus, Rey realized that Poe was holding her head and staring at her with big worried eyes. He had a line of blood trickling down his forehead but otherwise looked fine. He must have tucked them into the corner next to the doorway because she was sat up against the wall with her back way from the hangar. 

"Are you okay?"

There was still a ringing in her ear, but she nodded anyway. Her head was pounding where it had made impact and she wasn't very confident she could stand on her own. She watched as Poe gave her one last look before reaching for his blaster. 

Smoke was spilling out of the hanger and the entire ship had gone eerily silent. Staying low to the ground, Poe peered around the door frame next to her and pulled his pistol out. There was no way he could see through the smoke but kept his blaster pointed and ready to fire at the slightest sign of movement. Rey jumped as he fired. She couldn't hear the result of it, but immediately bright flashes of green came streaming into her hanger and struck the door frame. Poe continued to fire back but it was just no use. 

"I can't see anything," Poe yelled to her in between shots. He was oddly calm for the situation, but then again there really was no time to panic. 

With the ringing in her ear lessening, Rey's instincts kicked back in. She and Ben had been in a similar situation back on Devaron where they had been cornered in a section of ruins. They had been trapped up high against twenty or so enemies, and Rey had felt completely blind. But Ben had told her to reach out and feel them through the force. That day he taught her no one was blind with the Force. All she had to do was look. They ended up slipping off that planet without anyone even noticing. 

Remembering that Rey closed her eyes. It was hard to focus with all the blaster fire shooting across her hanger, but she turned it out to focus on herself. Before she could reach out, she needed to center herself. Find the force within, Ben would tell her. Control it before reaching out to others. Her center was so big and bright it was always easy to find. It was as strong as ever but anxious given the situation. Rey could handle it though. She breathed for a moment to sooth it; made sure she could control it. Once she was confident enough, she reached out to feel Poe. His frustration was clear, but was calm and collected in the heat of a fight. For Rey, he was a rock she could fall back on if something were to happen. So, using his focus, she extended out from the ship. 

"There are five of them," Rey said aloud. She could feel three stationed outside her ship with fingers itching to pull the trigger. For a moment she thought she'd get lost in the amount of anger they radiated, but she managed to tear herself away and keep looking. Two more were stepping up her ramp and approaching the hanger. Rey focused on one of them. "Aim toward the back right of the hanger." 

Poe hesitated for a moment. He was understandably confused but, none the less, he pointed his blaster and fired. A cry rang out from inside the hanger followed by a loud thud. 

"I got one!" he cheered. 

Rey smiled but switched focus to the next target. "There's another. Mid left."

With no pause, Poe shot again and brought another enemy crashing to the ground. He hadn't exactly killed them, but from the pain, they felt Rey assumed they wouldn't be firing back anytime soon.  
She was just about to pull back when one more signature stepped up onto the ramp. This one was big. Confident. She could tell they were carrying something heavy from the strain they felt trying to lift it onto the ramp. In reality, she could hear it clank down on the metal and only then did she realize what it was. 

"Get down!"

Dragging herself back into her physical body, Rey shot up from her hiding place and ignored the protest of her head. Poe didn't have much time to react before she heard the launch of the enemy's weapon. 

A missile came spiraling directly at them. It would have struck Rey directly in the chest if she had not lifted her hands up and pushed with all the force in her body. The projectile froze inches from her fingertips. It spit fire from its back as it fought to break through the force grip Rey was finding harder and harder to maintain. She'd never actually done this before. Ben had done it many times in defense of them but never was willing to teach her. Rey silently cursed him as she fought to keep the missile back. Her entire body was shaking and she felt her feet slip for a second. Her grip on it loosened and for a second, Rey thought she would lose it. 

Suddenly, Poe was behind her and pressing her forward. His arms gripped her elbows and held her steady despite the increasing strain. "You can do it!" He yelled into her ear. "Use the Force!"

Rey smiled at the gesture. He was right, but it would be dangerous. Even then she was holding back. If she lost control… no. She could do it. She won't lose control. Not again. Closing her eyes, Rey looked inward. She could do it. She could throw the missile back at the bounty hunters. She would save Poe. Save herself. They would live to go find Finn and rescue him from the First Order. She had to do it or no one else could. 

With a huge burst of power, Rey thrust the missile back out of her hangar where it flew back through the smoke. The entire ship shook as the force of energy erupted out of her like a sphere and blew not only the missile away, but anything in its path. 

Nothing was safe. The door frame bent, the walls creaked, and the floor rattled as it fought to withstand the pressure. It was a lot. Even for her. Sparks showered on her as, and when she had finally run dry, her knees buckled. The world slowed as the attack had literally exhausted her of all immediate energy. No one fired back and she couldn't feel anyone beyond the smoke, but a deep chill still began to coat Rey to her bones. The reality of what she'd done sank in and she began to shake. She lost control. She couldn't keep it together. She couldn't have killed Poe. 

POE. 

From where she collapsed, Rey turned to see Poe laying underneath the dashboard. His eyes were closed, and a thin trail of blood leading down to where his head laid. No… No, he couldn't. She didn't-

"Poe!" She screamed. 

She dragged herself toward him and began to shake him violently. He wasn't moving. Kriff he wasn't breathing! Wait- wait no he was! His eyes were opening! "Poe! Poe, are you okay!?" Slowly, his big dark eyes looked at her and… she couldn't meet them. She'd nearly… she couldn't have-

"Yeah… I'm fine." He groaned and sat up. There was a red spot where his head had been and ran his fingers through his hair to feel the wound.

Everything began to spin. She'd done it. She did it again! She lost control and… she stood up. "I'm so sorry." 

Poe looked up at her with his big eyes. He probably hated her now. Afraid of her. "What?" he stood up but Rey backed away. "No, Rey, I'm fine." 

No. Tears were streaming down her face. He wasn't fine. He was bleeding. He could have died! She lost control again and she could have killed him and she would never have lived with herself and Finn would be dead too and it all would have been her fault. She wasn't strong enough. She'd never be strong enough. She'd just keep killing everyone she'd ever love and become nothing more than a monster. 

Ben appeared out of nowhere. Rey still ran into him as she tried to escape Poe's stare. She spun in a panic but was stopped by his big hand. He held her shoulders to keep her still and for a moment they just stared at each other. He looked tired. Like he'd been in a fight. But overall he just looked scared. 

Gently, he brushed against her mind as a quiet way to ask for permission. When she nodded, he leaned down until their foreheads touched. He only pushed enough to find out what happened and still kept it quick. Images of the smoke, blaster fire, and missile came flashing back across her vision. More prominently, however, was the carnage she wrought. She saw Benas he approached the ship. The pride he felt when he saw the bounty hunters fought off and gone. The fear he felt when he saw her falling into pieces. 

He stopped pulling things out and instead pushed things in. He gave her warm memories at first. Their time on Raxus. The first time they'd sparred together. He reminded her how far she'd come. Reassured her no one was hurt and that she'd done the right thing. Even if she didn't believe him, he still brought her back down to reality and gave her a least a moment of peace. 

Reluctantly, he pulled away and left her alone in her mind. Overall, she felt numb. No longer in a storm of panic, but also not in the right state of mind. Ben guided her to the ground and kneeled before her as she leaned against the wall. 

"Can you meditate?" he asked no louder than a whisper. 

Not ready to speak, Rey just shook her head. 

"Then just breath," he soothed. His hand had found its way to her face and was cupping her cheek inside of his massive hand. She leaned into him and used it as a template for her to follow. As she closed her eyes, she matched his breaths and let herself find comfort in its simplicity. She could worry about this now, and everything else later. 

After a moment, Ben sighed and slowly removed his hand. She kept her eyes closed and tried to ignore everything else. 

"Can you help me fly this thing?" She heard him say. 

After a moment and some stumbling, Poe replied. "Uh yes. Of course."

"Then start the launch."

Two sets of footsteps left her alone in the hanger. The ship around her creaked and moan as it was prepared to launch, but Rey tuned it out. Whatever she did, whatever damage she caused, she'd deal with later. For now, there was only her breath. Keeping it steady and continuing to keep it in sync with his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're off to the races kiddos!!! Muha hahaha XD Please let me know what you think of this chapter and maybe even what you think happened???? I would LOVE your feedback and cherish every single comment I get<3 have a great day and wish me luck! Dead week is tomorrow and either I'll become VERY productive with this story or lose the will to write for a month :P Lol yeah... pray for me


	4. Chapter 4

The droid did a full body assessment. It was as cold and uncaring as he would have expected, but was also surprisingly thorough in its assessment. Of course, it didn’t answer any of his questions about where he was or what day it was, but at least it cared that he’d just about lost the ability to stand. After an initial scan and some unpleasant probing, it diagnosed him with severe dehydration and a concussion. His head wound, of course, was infected so that was the first thing the droid decided to focus on. It unceremoniously washed it out the dirt and pus it had accumulated and applied at least three different substances at various temperatures before applying a batch patch on top. For the dehydration, the floating orb pulled out a terrifyingly sharp needle and stuck it deep in his left arm. Thankfully it didn’t try to do something for the concussion, but it did instruct him to avoid physical activity like he had any choice in the matter. Overall the process made Finn feel like livestock.

Not that he was really complaining. After the droid had left, he’d crashed back onto his cot and fell asleep instantly. It was the best rest he’d gotten in years with no dreams or any interruptions for what felt like days. He’d woken up slowly and immediately felt the results of the droid’s visit. The gash on his head was no longer burning into his skull and the wall even stopped melting into itself. The three steps to his rations were as uneventful as they always should have and there was, even more, substance for him to consume. The droid must have made a fuss about his state of health because now, along with his meal bread, there was a small hydration tablet. Very slowly Finn began to feel like himself again which somehow made it worst. 

Without the distraction of his wound, Finn’s mind began to run as fast as his legs wanted too. It was maddening to just lay there on the cot without a single answer to the storm of questions forming in his mind. There wasn’t much he could do except try to work them out himself, which mostly resulted in even more questions. The most prominent of which was, of course, why was Hux keeping him alive?

Surprisingly, Finn didn’t know much about Hux. He knew he was a chief officer in the First Order, but he hadn’t really been talked about much in the Stormtrooper program. Every once in awhile the little flame-haired man would line them up in nice straight rows and begin some long-winded speech. It was always something about subjugating the galaxy and bringing order, but to be honest Finn never really took the man seriously. He was a ladder climber. No different from twenty other officer’s gunning to be captain of a star destroyer and eventually find favor from Supreme Leader Snoke. He’d never stuck out to Finn as anything different until he began giving Phasma orders. 

Then suddenly he was acquaintances with Kylo Ren and promoted to General. After that, Hux became the most important person that Finn didn’t know about. He was put in charge of Starkiller and ruled over the Stormtrooper program like a dictator. Then after Kylo Ren left, many of the defecting Stormtroopers claimed he’d become even more intimate and the last person you'd want to get in the way of. While Finn was flattered by the idea he was a big enough fish to warrant Hux’s full attention, it didn’t really make much sense. Sure, for anyone else Finn’s arrest would have been a huge boost for their career, but Hux was already as high as you could get in the First Order. Not to mention he never struck Finn as the type of guy who would do his own dirty work. 

Then there was the way he was being treated. His status as a traitor and multiple crimes against the First Order should have earned Finn a public execution. Yet he was being hidden away in solitary confinement getting top of the line medical treatment. Finn had expected to be paraded around the galaxy as a war trophy, not locked in a cell until he’d go mad. Why would Hux go through all the trouble to organize an ambush and capture one of the First Order’s most wanted if he wasn’t going to be used as some sort of political pawn? Unless he had already been placed on the board. 

Something Hux had said popped back into Finn’s mind. He’d said he was going for a larger prize. Did that mean he was bait? For whom? He’d mentioned his friend being a wanted criminal, but Finn was pretty sure all of his friends were wanted by the First Order. The only person that really stuck out to him was Rey. She certainly was someone with at a high enough caliber to warrant Hux’s attention, but she and Kylo Ren had disappeared over a year ago. There was no way news of his capture would get to her will Hux playing it so close to the vest. Not to mention it would just be suicide for her to come charging in to rescue him. Especially if she had Ren tailing along. No, Rey was big but too smart to be the target. 

Then there was Poe. The idea alone put a stone in his gut, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Hux only dealt with flashy catches and Poe just wasn’t that big a deal outside of the Resistance. Sure he could fly circles around the entire First Order combined and he had led many attacks against them, but Hux probably wouldn’t care enough to even know his name. If Hux was after Poe, all he would have to do would be to send a squadron after him and try to shoot him down. Nothing as elaborate as kidnapping. So at the very least, Finn could say that Poe was safe. 

He probably sat there for hours going through every person he’d ever known and ran them through the same checklist. No one, not even General Organa worked as a plausible target for Hux. Finn had just about given up and settled on the conclusion that Hux was just kriffing with him. It was frustrating to think that his capture was putting someone else in danger, but eventually, he decided just to give it a rest. Now that he was sure he wasn’t going to collapse at any second, he needed to find a way out of that cell and to a ship. Hux may not think much of him, but Finn knew if even one Stormtrooper saw him, he’d be facing the firing squad for sure. 

* * *

Poe didn't dare speak until they were way out of Florrum's orbit. After… whatever had happened with Rey and Kylo's forehead thing, Poe forced himself to focus on getting the old tub up and out of there. Thankfully nothing had been damaged too badly. The whole hanger was slightly bowed outward and a couple of fuel lines were severed, but nothing that couldn't wait until they were on their way out. Ren had been a serviceable co-pilot and only spoke when necessary. Poe couldn't help be relieved by Ren's minable interaction.  
When the guy had appeared in the middle of the ship, Poe didn't know what to expect. Maybe he’d finally run Poe through with his lightsaber or maybe he’d just toss him off the planet and whisk Rey away for good. He certainly didn't expect the Master of the Knights of Ren to turn all soft and soothing. Even looking like he'd been dragged through the mud, Ren's entire focus had just locked on Rey and turned as gentle as a warm breeze. Somehow it had unsettled Poe even more. 

Once they were out of the atmosphere, Ren left Poe to jump them to hyper speed. He'd typed in some odd coordinates before storming back out into the hanger. Not really knowing what else to do, Poe just calculated the launch and made sure they made the jump without running into a planet. He tried to stall in the cockpit as long as he could. The last thing he wanted was to interrupt some sort of force ritual, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. He still had no idea what had happened with Rey, and it felt weird to leave her alone with Ren. Summoning his bravery, Poe stood up and left the cockpit.  
What he walked into was somehow stranger than he’d expected. Rey was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the hangar floor back to back with Kylo Ren. They were facing opposite sides of the hangar with Rey facing Poe in the doorway. Even from there, Poe could see her chest rise and fall as she took in large breaths and released them in a long, slow cycle. He couldn’t imagine controlling one's breathing like that could have been very comfortable, but she looked relaxed with her eyes closed and headrest against Ren’s shoulder blade. Which again Poe couldn’t help reiterate how weird that was. The man clearly dwarfed her in size, but she was leaning on him like he was the most comforting thing in the galaxy. Odd didn’t even begin to describe how he felt about the situation.  
Probably reading his mind, the large mass behind Rey groaned. “Yes?”

Upon hearing the words, Rey’s eyes flashed open and lifted up to meet Poe’s. Her previous state of panic was gone, but he could still see hints of it left on her face. What little Florrum filth was still on her cheeks exposed where tears had run down moments before. Her eyes were swollen and red but were quickly regaining their natural strength. She watched him closely as he approached. There was a hint of apprehension in her posture which only worked to make her look smaller. 

“We’ve entered hyperspace,” he told her even though it was Ren’s question, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

A small curve formed on the edge of her mouth, but it disappeared just before it could form properly. “Thanks.” 

Ren’s head snapped sideways so that he could give Poe a proper glare of annoyance. His stupid nose jutted out of his face as his eyes sharpened into a clear warning for Poe to get lost. Poe nearly snorted at the narrow-minded and possessive nature of the action. What was meant to look threatening reminded Poe of a petty teenager trying to act tougher than he really was. It was kind of funny. Especially how Ren believed it was that easy to intimidate him.

“I’m sorry,” Rey said breaking the tension between the two men. Poe’s eyes fell back down to her, but if she had noticed anything he couldn’t see it. Mainly because her face had dropped to study the floor. “You know… for what happened.” 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Ren replied before Poe could. 

“Yeah and you don’t have to apologize,” Poe countered after meeting Ren’s accusatory scowl. Deciding just to ignore him, Poe knelt so he could be eyes level with Rey. “Whatever you did, you saved my life. The rocket would have destroyed the entire ship if it wasn’t for you.” 

“It’s not that…” Rey trailed off. 

Poe crossed his legs to sit down entirely, but still, Rey wouldn’t meet his eyes. At some point, they had glassed over like she was thinking about something unpleasant, or trying to decide something.  
Suddenly, she spoke. “Do you remember at the resistance when they used to say I was a really powerful force user?” 

It took him a moment but he nodded. “They still do.”

Rey looked kind of startled by this, but she continued anyway. “Well, um… I am. Really powerful. Like I have my own well of it held up inside.”  
When she paused, Kylo’s hand appeared on her shoulder. Her hand found his immediately and wove their fingers together. She didn’t look at him, but Poe was pretty sure they said something to each other. They were sitting too quietly and leaning too close for them not to be doing some type of force conversation. Was that possible? Probably. 

“Sometimes,” she continued after squeezing Ren’s hand, “I lose control.”

Poe’s eyebrows creased. “Is that why I got blown back on the dashboard?”

Rey nodded. “I couldn’t channel it. Instead of pushing the rocket back, I just exploded in all directions. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

“You didn’t hurt me,” he blurted out. She looked taken aback by his sudden outburst, but Poe put on a big goofy smile in an attempt to get her not to look so defeated. “I mean, I’m fine. Look!” Thinking quickly, he turned his head to show her the red spot hidden under his hairline. “It’s nothing. Not even a bump. I’m totally fine. “

She didn’t look like she believed him, but she smiled anyway. “Thanks, Poe.”

Apparently, the comfortable silence that fell over the hanger did not please the forever looming Kylo Ren. He made a not so subtle scoff as he turned his entire body until not only was he able to scowl at Poe properly, and he was close enough the Rey to send a clear message. 

“How long will we be in hyperspace?”

“Don’t know,” he shot back. He didn’t know where the sudden bout of disdain from, but he couldn’t help sending it right back. “You forgot to mention where we were going.”

Ren’s eyes narrowed. “I put in the coordinates. Do you not know how to read those?”

The sheer amount of contempt being sent between the two men could have been cut with a knife. Poe could physically feel Ren’s glare as he tried so hard to make it lethal. Poe knew that if he wanted, Ren really could kill him with a look, but force tricks wouldn’t intimidate Poe this time. He matched Ren’s gaze with his own sharp look and didn’t look away when he actually did feel a pressure press between his eyes. Whatever non threatening motions Ren had displayed just moments ago completely evaporated as the two mutually tried to destroy each other only through eye contact. 

They probably wouldn’t have ended up in an actual fight if Rey hadn’t decided to let out the most beleaguered sigh Poe had ever heard. “Stop it.”

“What?” Ren said with his eyes still trying to drill through Poe’s skull. 

“You know what,” she groaned before rubbing circles over her temples. “If we’re ever going to pull this off, you two have to figure out how to deal with each other.” 

“With him?” Poe snorted which earned him another push into his forehead. 

“Yes,” she snapped. “I’m not asking you to forgive him or anything, but he’s here to help so you have to at least tolerate him.”

“I don’t think he’s capable of that,” Ren muttered just loud enough for Poe to hear.

“Not with you threatening him every three seconds,” Rey grumbled. “And please stop pushing into his mind.”

Reluctantly, Poe felt the pressure on his head lift. Poe couldn’t help a smug smile from slipping across his face which only widened when Ren shot him one last sharp eye. 

“You’re both children,” Rey lamented. 

After one more heavy exhale, she stood up and put her hands on her hips. Her eyes looked at Poe to no doubt trace the damage that in circled the area around the doorway. Suddenly Poe remembered the reason he was sitting on the floor and a small weight of guilt landed in his stomach. 

“I’m going to start repairs on the ship,” she told them shortly. She left no room for argument and even gave him a look that reminded Poe of the general. “I’m going to let you two come up with the plan for rescuing Finn. With your big heads, I’m sure you can come up with something that won’t get up killed.”

Obviously done with everything, Rey took a step before Ren’s hand snatched her wrist. Poe couldn’t believe it as he watched Ren’s eyes darken as he stopped her in her tracks and waited for her look at him. When she did, she held a neutral expression as she looked down at him. Her arms hung limply at her side as it became obvious how exhausted she must have been. Poe could only imagine how much energy it must have taken to cause that big of a bulge in the ship and how their squabble probably hadn’t helped much. Dark circles were already forming under her eyes which he may not have noticed if they hadn’t narrowed when they met Ren’s. 

Not for the first time that day, Poe regretted never asking the general how the force worked. Something type of power was being exchanged as they stared intently at each other. He had no idea what was happening. If he looked closely, he could see small changes in their facial features as they reacted to something. Poe had never really gotten the whole all-powerful mystical energy field concept, but it looked way more intense than he would have expected. It was like their eyes had locked into the other’s and nothing short of an explosion was going to break them apart. Whatever was happening on their higher level of reality was mind-boggling to him, and he only got more confused when it abruptly ended.

“Tell him if you want,” Rey suddenly stated. 

When she moved to pull her arm out of Ren’s grip, he let go immediately. He looked like he’d aged a couple of years as an undertone of worry laced his face. All hints of hostility had disappeared from the man and for the first time, Poe couldn’t see the man that used to rule the galaxy.

“I need to work on the ship,” she told him must more gently this time. “Let me know when you’ve come up with something.”

And like that she left. Without a single glance his way, she walked into the cockpit and left Poe alone with Kylo Ren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank God I wrote this chapter ahead of time! Unfortunately, this will probably be my last regular Sunday upload. Dead week was horrible (broke my glasses which resulted in a weeklong migraine which resulted in a LARGE reduction of study time) and I still have all my finals to go, so I haven't been able to write as much as I used to. I hope that seeing the movie next Sunday will kick me back into the writing mood, but we'll just have to see. I promise I will get back to this as long as it doesn't turn out to be insect :P Comments will definitely speed up the process so let me know what you think! FOUR MORE DAYS GUYS!!! XD <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick update: I know it has been way too long since I updated this but I needed to do some tweaking to make it less cannon complicated. SO this is what I came up with:
> 
> All of episode 8 is canon up until the proposal in the red room. The change from that scene is that Rey was able to convince Kylo to run away with her and they then go together to help the resistance. Events are basically the same after that with a few differences. Luke still died (because his death was so heroic and beautiful and I refuse to take that away from him), and the resistance is still down to maybe 30 people, but the reasons for all of that may be different. I went back through and changed some references to now-dead characters, but all the story beats are still the same. Though I did change Rey calling him Kylo, to her calling him Ben just as a subtle way to show her faith in his humanity and his lack thereof (though I did just explain it to you so yeah). I also had to change the What happened moment because it was really canon divergent and, again, I loved what was done in the movie so much. That definitely did change the trajection of this story, but to be honest it will probably be for the better. 
> 
> Other then that, we should be all good and you are now caught up! I'll write something else in the bottom note, but I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!

Thankfully for Rey, there was a lot of repairs that needed to be done. After an initial moment of self-loathing for hurting her near perfect ship, she decided to take the excuse to distract herself as a blessing. There was no way better way to keep one’s mind from spiraling out of control than making it focus on how to bypass damaged hydraulic mechanisms. Poe’s crash against the dashboard had been a particularly difficult puzzle as the smashed buttons and gauges made it particularly impressive that they had gotten off the ground at all. After a moment of tinkering, she realized the damage was mostly superficial, but it was still remarkable Poe and Ben had been able to operate around it.

Considering their earlier bout of hostility, Rey was mostly surprised they’d been able to sit next to each other long enough to get off planet. She’d always known something bad would happen if Ben ever ran into the Resistance again, but that was over the top even by his standards. Poe didn’t realize how close he was to having his mind cracked open into a thousand pieces. Not that he wasn’t egging Ben on. Poe had to have known that Ben has a short fuse, or at least assumed he did when it came to her. She appreciated both of their concern, but she really didn’t need them to defend her honor. Especially it was to the other. 

“Rey!” she heard Poe yell from the hangar, “Tell this moron we can’t storm a star destroyer without a ship.”

“That is not what I said,” Ben snapped already stooping down below his superiority complex, “What I said was the best way to get on the ship was to stow away on a freighter.”

“So we won’t even have an exit plan!?”

Rey sighed into her wrench. They’d lasted longer than she’d expected but it also meant Ben hadn’t told him what really had him on edge. She should have known Ben would never put aside his disdain long enough to have an honest conversation. Despite all the progress they had made on diminishing his anger and letting go of the past, there was always that one subject that sent him flying into a rage. She knew it was just his protective nature and there was a part of her that enjoyed it on some occasions, but he really didn’t have to take it this far.

While the boys continued to argue, Rey’s attention was drawn away by the dashboard. Near the middle of it was a small flashing green light. The top of the bulb had been smashed in and the age of the console didn’t help as she tried to figure out what it was attached to. None of the pressure gauges were fluctuating so it wasn’t a malfunction, but Rey couldn’t think of many other reasons the light should be flashing. Unless it was a conditions meter… or a communications device.

Realizing she hadn’t gotten around to finish fixing the coms system on Florrum, Rey ducked under the dashboard. Sure enough, two little wires were dangling below the light just like she had left them. She got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach before reaching over and reconnecting the wires.

“Attention HWK-290 Freighter,” a harsh voice boomed over the reinstalled comms system. “You are entering restricted airspace.”

Rey hit her head on the bottom of the dash as she scrambled back onto her feet. She had only stood for a second before her ship suddenly lurched forward. The blue streaks disappeared out the dashboard window as Rey realized they had been forced out of hyperspace and were now caught in a tractor beam. Ben instantly appeared behind her as she sat down in the pilot's seat to try to fight back control of her ship.

“What was that?” Poe asked once he had squeezed in past Ben.

“The First Order,” Ben replied in an oddly calm tone, “We’ve entered First Order territory.”

“WHAT!?” Rey and Poe exclaimed together.

“Just on the edge,” he assured still not showing anywhere near the appropriate amount of alarm.

“Didn’t you think you should maybe tell us we were flying directly into enemy fire?” Poe yelled obviously forgetting any attempts at decency.

“Where did you think we were going?” Ben snapped back, “Naboo?”

“I guess I thought you had the brain power to know we need to get a bit more firepower before we take on an entire star destroyer!”

“We are. Celanon is right on the edge of their territory and there is a weapons facility there that can not only get us weapons but information about where the traitor is.”

“His name is Finn.”

“Whatever.”

“Guys!”

With a startled look toward the window, she brought their attention to the huge Lancer-class freighter about to swallow them whole. Everyone fell silent as Rey failed to regain control of the ship and slammed her fist against the dashboard.

“We need a plan,” she exclaimed already looking at Ben probably more out of frustration than trust. She may not have been yelling, but that didn’t mean she was very happy with him.

“It’s just a routine inspection,” he assured her before sitting in the co-pilot seat. He took a moment to look around and get his bearings before asking, “Have you responded to their transition?”

“Not yet.”

“Don’t,” he examined the console and began deactivating most of the thrusters, “cooperate with everything they say, and try to be as casual as possible.”

“Hold on.” Poe pushed himself to stand between their chairs and now used Ben's reduced stature as an opportunity to glare down at him. “I’m going to pretend, for the moment, like I trust you and that you actually do have a plan to get us out of this. Why don’t you fill us in on it, so we can stop yelling and focus on not getting shot?”

Rey watched as Ben pressed a few more buttons to power down the entire ship. Her machine stilled for a second, before breaking out in one long belabored sigh. In the darkness, before the emergency lights turned on, she heard Ben let out his own grown before turning to look at Poe.

“Fine,” he conceded as he leaned back into his chair. “First Order protocol is to inspect every vessel coming in and out of their territory. I knew we didn’t have the speed or stealth to pass under their radar, so the best way to get through is to act like we had a damaged communications system and cooperate from there.”

“Current protocol is to also to check identification,” Poe countered, “I’m pretty sure you’ve told me you were the most wanted individuals in the galaxy, plus I’m not very popular either.”

“Correct,” Ben nodded. The ship rattled as a couple of tie fighters rawred close to them but he hardly paused to let them pass. “A ship this size will have freighters coming in and out all the time. They won’t have the manpower to send more than three soldiers to inspect us. We haven’t been seen as a threat, so all we have to do is get them in and out. We’ll be released once the head officer gives the okay and we’ll be off to Celanon.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?”

“We don’t.” His lips curled up as he looked past Poe and nodded. “She will.”

* * *

It wasn’t a great plan, but it would have to do.

Once they had been dragged directly into the open mouth of the First Order’s Lancer, Kylo had to wedge himself behind a panel and the ships main water storage. If anyone looked directly to their right the moment they stepped into the hangar, he’d be completely exposed, but that was the least of their concerns. The memory of Kylo Ren was too fresh in the mind of the First Order, so being seen was too much of a risk for them. The entire plan hedged on them staying discreet and keeping contact down to only three people. Anyone else could overwhelm them and result in an all-out brawl. Which he had to admit in this instant was a bad idea.

The ship let out a startling creak when it finally touched down on the Lancer. If it had been any other time, Kylo would have teased Rey for picking literally the oldest ship he had ever come across, but she hadn’t looked very happy with him when she helped shove him into his hiding spot. Plus they’d been forced to put too much faith in the hunk of junk to risk finding out the thing had a worst personality than the Falcon. If it could last this long, what was a couple more chases through the jaws of death?

“You sure about this?” Rey called out from her position outside of his field of view.

“Yes,” he replied sounding way more confident that he felt. “Just stick to the plan.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the pilot muttered, “Just stay in your little hole and we’ll handle it.”

It was a good thing the hangar door decided to hiss open because otherwise, Dameron would have gotten a nice force flick to the head. He smirked at the idea, even though he could imagine the sharp remark Rey would throw at him. Of course, he’d then toss back something about holding back and she’d probably flick him back. He chuckled at the idea and almost regretting not doing it.

The ramp lowered down to the First Order ship at a tensely slow pace. A burst of stale sterile air came billowing past him and immediately threw Kylo back into the days where that was all he breathed. The processed oxygen, slightly chilled temperature, it was all the same. It had never bothered him back then how chemically clean it was, but now he had to hold back the in urge to gag. Every movement of his chest brought back painful memories of how he wasted so many years trapped in a militaristic loop of pain and destruction. He didn’t exactly regret it, he’d lost that right a long time ago, but it was nowhere a pleasant walk down memory lane.

Once the dusty metal of the Hawk had touched the pristine tile of the Lancer, the harsh tone of boots came trotting up toward them. Through Kylo’s one exposed side, he watched as, like he predicted, two officers passed followed by a Stormtrooper. The trooper hung back to stand directly in front of Kylo’s hiding spot, as the superior of the two officers approached Rey and Dameron. He couldn’t exactly see where the second officer went, but it she followed protocol, she was standing a couple steps behind her superior typing visible ship data into her holopad.

“Are you the only crew members on board?” The head officer asked deciding to just get to the point.

“Yes, sir,” Kylo heard Dameron say more convincingly that he would have expected. “It is just my copilot and me.”

“Why did you not respond to our hails?”

“Mechanical Error. We were attacked at our drop off which damaged our communications system.”

“But you still saw fit to enter First Order Space without it?”

“It was an emergency take off, sir. Coordinates were already set and had we stayed we would have risked our ship.”

There was a thick pause. Kylo reached out to peak into the outskirt of his mind just in case he needed to give Rey a heads up. Thankfully, he was met with the expected pompous but dimwitted thought process typical in First Order Officers. The man wasn’t happy with the story the pilot had given him, but he wasn’t suspicious yet. The damage Rey had caused to the interior was enough to make him consider the story true, plus there wasn’t even a passing thought of them being a threat. He would let it slide but only for as long as nothing else is given an excuse. Kylo heard him click his hard-soled heels after he settled on this conclusion before continuing.

“And you were attacked by?” the sound of the officer quieted as he moved passed Dameron to inspect the damage on the dashboard.

“Pirates, sir,” Dameron called after him. There were more footsteps following the officer but they were too soft to belong to the pilot. “They were after our shipment, but it had thankfully already delivered them to our buyer.”

“I see….”

The Stormtrooper’s armor clicked as he shifted his weight. Kylo easily reached out to him to see his apprehension at watching a strange girl follow the superior officer into the cockpit which was only amplified when she ducked out of his view. He wasn’t thinking about attacking perse, but Kylo pushed a calming thought in for good measure. Kylo had no doubt in his mind the trooper would wait for orders no matter what he thought, but there was no way Kylo was going to bet Rey’s life on Hux’s ability to program stormtroopers.

“And what was your shipment?”

“Service droids.”

It was Rey who had answered him this time. There was a quick sound of boot squeaking as the officer turned to see Rey suddenly so close to him. If Kylo knew Rey, she had him cornered into the cockpit and staring him down with her big brown eyes. The force curved for a moment. Turning away from Kylo, and leaning toward Rey as she steadied herself, and focused her energy on her target.

“And who are you?” the officer asked with a hint of fluster in his tone. Kylo almost laughed at the thought of Rey putting on a strong enough act to make a First Order officer uncomfortable. He couldn’t blame the guy, she could be really captivating when she wanted to be.

“I’m no one,” she replied smoothly.

A red flag shot up in the mind of the other officer. Kylo’s attention immediately shot to her and poked into the inside of her thoughts to find what had triggered it. Unlike the Stormtrooper, she was not a mindless drone and could plainly see the manipulation of her boss. She was already running through a thousand different ways to respond so Kylo had to act quickly if he didn’t want her becoming the most competent soldier in the First Order. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to be gentle as he pushed deeper through her outer thoughts which caused her to let out a small gasp. It wasn’t very loud, and if someone did hear it they didn’t react, but Kylo still regretted having to be so forceful. It’d been a long time since he had to violate someone’s thoughts and it was starting to put a bad taste in his mouth. Trying not to disrupt her further, he shoved his way into her train of thought and curved it toward an idea of normalcy. If she believed nothing was wrong, she wouldn’t alert the rest of the ship and he wouldn’t have to keep his hold on her for much longer. It was a flimsy lie and he had a feeling she would fight against it, but it just had to hold long enough for them to get off the Lancer.

“Let me see your identification,” the other officer ordered as Kylo released his grip on his partner.

He could practically feel the smile on her face and Rey took a deep breath and told him, “You don’t need to see my identification.”

There was a moment after the words left her mouth where the room went silent. Rey’s command of the force caused everything to still before conforming to her will. It was like, for that moment, the whole galaxy revolved around her and God help anyone who was in her way. Even Kylo, a Knight train specifically in defending his mind, had once been caught up in her mind trick abilities. It had been at the beginning of her training and she wasn’t nearly as skilled in the force as she was now. Where he had to push and pull things in his enemy’s minds, she dissolved and created them. The superior had no way to stop his order breaking down in his mind and being replaced by her own. Whatever he had said was completely gone from his head and all that was left was her’s.

“I don’t need to see your identification.”

The grin that spread across his face was selfishly prideful.

“You’ll hand me your access card, and order your men to release this ship.”

“I will hand you my access card and order my men to release this ship.”

There was a moment of moving cloth as the officer dug into his hidden pocket to produce his military access card. Kylo doubted he even hesitated as he held out the most important item on his person and handed it out to this random woman. Rey’s nails clicked on the smooth plastic before speaking again. 

“Carry on.”

“Carry on.”

The man’s boots clicked with purpose as he spun around and marched out of the ship. Kylo watched as his sleek uniform passed him without a single thought of doubt. The other officer followed sheepishly, but his influence was still strong enough to keep her mouth shut. The Stormtrooper didn’t even have a questioning thought in his head as he stepped off of the ramp and signaled an all clear to the command center. The hanger door began to close but no one dared to breathe until it hissed shut.

“That was awesome!”

As Kylo clumsily pushed himself from his hiding spot, he watched as Dameron rushed to Rey and enveloped her in a bear hug. She, of course, laughed off the praise as dumb luck, but the pilot wisely continued claiming her excellence. It was obvious to Kylo that he hadn’t witnessed many expert uses of the force, but was pleased he could recognize one when he saw it.

“I mean I thought we were dead, but then you…”

Dameron continued with so much energy Kylo was sure he’d burst. Rey took his words with a smile, but when Kylo emerged behind him her eyes floated up to met his. Not needing to ask for the question floating behind them, he gave her a genuine smile and a proud nod. Only then did her expression match the pilots.

“Mission’s not over yet,” he interrupted, “We still have to get off of this can.”

While apparently annoyed at being interrupted, Dameron sighed and stalked back toward the cockpit. Kylo held back away from the viewport and let Rey take the pilot’s seat to check out the conditions of her ship.

“We are free of the tractor beam,” she announced after checking out a few of the dials. “We need to wait for the all-clear from the control center to keep up the ruse, but we should be-“

The cockpit was suddenly flooded with an ear-piercing alarm. The hangar outside was illuminated in a harsh red light and a nauseating rock fell into the pit of his stomach. The other officer.

“We have to go,” he yelled before Rey or Dameron could even uncover their ears.

“I thought you said her mind trick would last for awhile!” he screamed over the obnoxiously mechanical screech as he began to frantically prepare for takeoff.

“It’s not her fault,” Kylo shot back as he reached out to find her. Sure enough, the other officer had broken through his conditioning and was frantically shouting at her superior to get out of it. “His partner was more strong-minded than I’d anticipated.”

“Oh great.”

“Quiet!” Rey shouted before slamming one more button.

The ship’s engines roared to life, and only lifted off a couple of inches before Rey kicked it forward. Kylo hardly had time to brace himself before they busted out of the hanger and were quickly followed by the sound of tie fighters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we are back ^.^ Hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter and thank you so much for being patient with me. With finals, the holidays and the new movie it took me a while to regroup and get back into writing. I did write a little force skype one-shot if you wanted to check that out ;) I'm gonna try my darnedest to keep the updates regular and comments will definitely make it come faster <3 Love you all so much and I hope you're getting as excited for this as I am!


	6. Chapter 6

Finn’s new ability to stay conscious for an entire cycle resulted in him finally seeing how his rations appeared on the shelf. When he heard the sharp hiss of something opening, his first thought was that he was getting another visitor through his transparent wall. Talking to Hux again didn’t exactly sound pleasant, but he had to admit he was going to have to take whatever some social interaction he could get if he wanted to keep his mental health in check. However, he was instead startled half to death to see two real humanoid hands reach through a newly exposed hole in the wall to place his daily rations on the exact spot they always appeared in. They weren’t there any longer than a couple of seconds, but Finn couldn’t bring himself to move due to some irrational fear bubbling up through his chest. He could only sit frozen on the cot until they pulled out of the cell and the panel slid shut with the same metallic hiss.

With so little stimuli, it shouldn’t have surprised Finn how quickly it took for those two covered hands to consume his entire train of thought. He probably should have been concerned by how quickly his mind was able to be fixated on the first hint of a living being, but the possibility of going insane didn’t seem all that important to him at that moment. Because if he was being fed by a true living breathing person, that meant his entire placement on the First Order vesicle was completely wrong. He’d thought he was being held in the high-security solitary confinement block. The cell was the right size, the lack of contact was consistent, kriff even the transparent wall matched up. But those prisoners were watched by special military droids to deprive them of even a passing form of social contact. Yet, those were definitely Stormtrooper hands that reached through that hatch to feed him. Finn would have been able to recognize First Order issued gloves anywhere. But Stormtroopers weren’t even allowed on the same floor as the high-security block. You had to be an upper-level officer just to get in the same hall as those cells, let alone be able to open a section of them. No matter how small. So if he wasn’t there, the only other place he could be would be a general population single cell block, but that just opened a whole new range of questions.

If he was such an important piece of Hux’s plan, why was he being treated like any other First Order prisoner? Sure Finn’s pride had taken a couple of hits after his talk with the man, but at the very least he knew that the First Order took traitors very seriously. Between his initial act of defecting to the resistance and now his work helping other Stormtroopers do the same had to at least earn him a passing hatred from every soldier on the ship. He’d even heard some of those defected soldiers mentioning that many true believer troopers had him at the top of their personal target list. There was no way Hux could just dump him in a normal cell and expect him not to be executed or mobbed within the next hour. The moment the officers in charge of the block saw him, he’d be kicked and dragged to a firing squad before he could even blink. How in the world did Hux think he could be kept alive long enough to be bait?

Unless… they didn’t know.

For the first time in what felt like weeks, an actual explanation lept forth from the depths of his mind in a glorious epiphany. A big smile actually tugged at his split lips as all the little pieces fell into place. Finally, give him at least one answer from his thousands of questions.

Hux was hiding him.

Crew on a First Order vesicle was notified of all high-security prisoners onboard. Whatever Hux was going, he must not want anyone to know about it. More specifically, Hux was probably trying to hide him from the higher level officers. With their no mercy for traitors policy, they would kill Finn without a second thought, but as he clearly said Hux needed him as bait. That’s why he had seen to his imprisonment personally. That’s why he bothered to send a medical droid to fix his head. He needed to keep the number of people that knew of his capture low to prevent him from dying before he could catch his real prize. And the only way to do that was to slip the First Order’s most wanted traitor into a regular cell in an attempt to blend him in with the other prisoners.

Either Finn was the galaxy’s greatest detective or he really was going insane. He shook his head and stood up to see if a change in position would cast a new light on the situation. He paced the eight steps of his cell a thousand times, but no matter what angle he came at it, it all led back to the same conclusion. The First Order’s protocols were too rigid to allow a trooper into a high-security block and his traitor status was too common knowledge for his capture to be in a report and not result in him being dead two seconds after landing. Hux was planning something and he did not want the rest of the First Order to know about it.

Which meant, if he wanted to protect whoever Hux was after, Finn had to make sure they did exactly that.

* * *

Poe had thought it’d take at least a day before everything turned into a complete disaster. Sure the bounty hunters had been a bit of a setback, but they were nothing compared to the small horde of tie fighters launching out of the First Order Lancer like a swarm of buzzing insects. He couldn’t get a good look their flight formations, but if he knew anything about the First Order, they were going to try to scramble.

“We need to stay ahead of them,” Poe shouted over the sound of the approaching fighters. “They’re going to try to surround and overwhelm us before we can get out of range of the Lancer.”

“Of course they are,” Ren shot back before frantically checking as many gauges as he could from his co-pilot seat. “Rey, how are the thrusters?”

“They’re fine,” Rey replied as she waited for the shields to boot up, “But that’s not going to be a problem if we-“

She was cut off as the sound of the fighters beginning to fire. Most of the bolts were about as well aimed as a Stormtroopers so they went careening past them into the dark void. Poe counted six of them fly past through the front viewport, but apparently, there were two that were well aimed and hit them straight in the back.

“Does this thing have a gun?” Ren yelled over the sound of the blaster shield getting a new smoldering black streak.

“No,” Rey responded in a tone that summed up all the emotions Poe was feeling, “Whoever renovated this thing wasn’t exactly expecting a firefight.”

The next round of shots caused the whole ship to shake. Poe’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the back of Rey’s chair to keep from falling. He’ll have to add that to the growing list of the reasons he hated the ship’s previous owners.

“What about the shields? Are they-”

“They’re enabled," she interrupted as she tried to hold a steady voice. "But I don’t know if I was able to completely-"

Another bolt smashed down on the ship’s left blaster shield but this time something gave. Poe lost his balance and quickly went crashing down on the metal floor. A curse nearly escaped his lips as pain shot up his soon to be very bruised arm but a loud crack from behind him snapped his head back toward the hanger. There was a large panel hanging off the side off the wall to expose a section of pipes that were beginning to leak an oily black smoke.

“Kriff!” he finally said as he struggled to stand back up. “That one damaged something.”

“What is it?” Rey asked before suddenly causing the ship to veer right.

Poe’s shoulder made hard contact with the wall as he was flung with the moment of the ship. A thought of Rey starting a “let’s throw Poe around” pattern crossed his mind before he could help himself.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted before another evasive maneuver sent him stumbling against her chair. “It’s just spewing out black smoke.”

“Kriff,” she swore before looking over at Ren. His eye immediately met hers but he didn’t look very happy about it. “Take the controls.”

“I need a co-pilot,” he countered with a hint of cold pleading in his voice.

“Poe’s the greatest pilot in the Resistance,” she replied with a pointed glare. “I’d hope between the two of you, that we won’t get blown to pieces.” With that, she slipped behind Poe toward the hanger and disappeared into the growing plume of smoke.

Ren didn’t hesitate to switch to the pilot's seat, immediately flipping switches and pushing buttons that Poe rose his eyebrows at.

“Why are you lowering our shields?” he asked as he sat down in the seat next to him.

“I’m rerouting power from the shields to the main thrusters,” the man corrected with a thick layer of contempt. Apparently Mr. high and mighty didn’t appreciate being questioned. “If Rey didn’t complete her repairs then they are probably just wasting energy.”

“We can’t take on a squadron with no guns and no shields,” Poe protested despite the fact he was checking the shields to indeed see that their power was too low to even deflect a hand blaster.

“If someone was willing to sacrifice blaster cannons for speed then this thing’s got to be worth something,” Ren snapped before kicking the newly charged thrusters.

If the ship hadn’t suddenly doubled in speed in such impressive results, it would probably have bothered him that Ren was right. The riffing bucket of bolts actually shot forward faster than even his x-wing without an extra special boost. Ren didn’t hesitate to use their new advantage to swivel around an oncoming round of cannon fire. In any other situation, Poe might have found the freighter’s speed to be exciting, but the moment was quickly shattered by another bolt slamming into the side of the hull. 

There was a clunking sound as more metal fell behind them followed by a frustrated Rey yelling, “Can you please not destroy my ship!?” somewhere deep in the smoke.

“It’s not like it was great to begin with,” Ren muttered probably by accident. Another volley missed them only by an inch, giving him time finally decide to use Poe. “Do you see anything that looks like a guidance system?”

Holding back the witty remark on the tip of his tongue, Poe scanned the dashboard for what was left of the blaster controls. There was a collection of switches sectioned off away from the main damage, but even if they looked similar to a guidance system the ship was so old it was hard to be sure. It also didn’t help that Ren was flying like a madman to try to be a harder target for the fighters. Deciding it was what they were looking for, he began to boot it up and hope it hadn’t been damaged when his body had collided with the dashboard.

“It’s there,” Poe announce when a cracked screen popped on in between them him. “But do I need to remind you that we don’t have any guns to aim?”

“Assuming this ship is built sturdy,” He answered making a point to ignore his sarcasm, “we can probably take two more shots before we turn into space dust. We’re out of range of the Lancer, but it’s difficult to dodge the tie fighter shots when I can’t see them.”

Thirty minutes ago, Poe would have gotten in his face about his obviously patronizing tone. But, he saw what the guy was hinting at and even he had to admit it was a decent plan. He got to work calibrating the system so that it was faced back toward the Lancer. An image of their pursuers loaded onto the screen and while it was a very basic picture in terms of information, it would get the job done.

“There are four of them right behind us. One straight back, one flanking its left and two on its right.”

“Can you see when they fire?”

He squinted at the screen. There hadn’t been anything indicating a blaster bold yet and there was a strong possibility that this old a system wouldn’t be fast enough to even recognize one. Poe was about to tell Ren as much until two little dots came flying from the lead fighter.

“Veer up now!”

Without any hesitation, Ren pulled back on the joystick and lifted the tip of the ship until Poe was pressed firmly against his seat. Somewhere behind him, he thought he heard Rey call out in frustration, but his eyes were already locked on the two back fighters that were quick enough to curve their path. 

“Two are still on our tail,” he told Ren who was already gearing up for another quick maneuver. “I can’t see what happened to the other two.”

“Don’t worry about them,” he was told through gritted teeth, “How close are the ones behind us?”

Poe squinted at the gauges. “Maybe a steady four ship lengths behind us.”

“Okay,” he finally said after releasing a shaky breath. When Poe looked over, he was surprised to see a crack in the man’s usually steel mask. There was actual concern peeking out of his eyes as he thought over their options. Poe had seen that look on countless other faces, but on Ren, it just looked… wrong. “If we don’t lose the Lancer before we hit Celanon we’re going to have the entire First Order on us before we even get off the ship.”

Poe nodded. “So we need a distraction?”

For the first time, maybe ever, Kylo Ren laughed. “What we need is something stupid flying.”

Those loaded words fell on Poe’s lap with absolutely no warning. They had been spoken casually but landed like a shot to the chest. Poe glanced at his former enemy with all the skepticism he had ever held against him. Ren met him with almost a challenging stare. Poe knew exactly what he meant, but still didn’t exactly trust it. A question masked by an insult? Sure it wasn’t out of the question for Ren, but its true meaning was almost too surreal to process.

“The other two fighters,” he said with as steady a voice his pride would allow. It was obviously not easy for him, so he could only lift his long index finger angled out and down until they stopped approximately 20 degrees below them, “Are right there.”

With a single solitary nod, Poe switched main pilot controls over to him. Coming back to reality and not wanting to Ren to suddenly go back on his offer, he took a dying breath before thinking over the plan and pushing the ship to nose dive. A screak called out from behind them as Rey presumably felt the sudden increase of force that came from quickly accelerating a two-ton ship down toward a couple of tie fighters. The freighter had to be three times the weight of his x-wing but Poe could do this maneuver in his sleep. It was a classic.

The fighters came into view at roughly the same angle Ren had pointed to. They were traveling in the same straight line which Poe could only assume meant they were out of com range of the Lancer. Apparently, the mindless drones couldn’t even choose to make a right turn without an order from their superiors. He'd feel sorry for them if he wasn’t going to turn them into space dust in three seconds.

Coming fast, Poe shot the ship as fast as it could go directly into their flight path. A quick glance at the guidance system showed the other two fighters had followed them down and were completely oblivious to their plan. He also saw Ren’s knuckles grip white on the dashboard as they got closer and closer to heading them off. He remained gracefully quiet despite the thousand curses at him that were probably building on his tongue.

Poe smirked. “Everybody hold on!”

With more force than was probably necessary, Poe released the thrusters so that the ship fell straight in front of the fighters. The stars blurred as the freighter curved around the enemy and just barely miss the top of their wing. Poe kicked back in the thruster’s to skim back below them and shoot back toward the Lancer. And as if that wasn’t perfect enough, the sound of an exploding ship came screaming into the cockpit as half of their pursuers’ collided in a brilliant ball of fire.

“Yeah!” a voice sounding oddly like Ren’s called out, “Not bad for a Resistance pilot.”

“Oh please,” Poe replied not even trying to hide his smirk widening “even you have to admit the First Order relies more on quantity than quality of their pilots.”

The man actually grinned as his response, before looked back out at the Lancer coming into their front view. “This thing’s going to have 20 cannons total, but only two on its front.”

“Fun, where’s the bridge?”

“Right there in the middle. Looks like we still have two ties behind us.”

“Perfect.”

With a questioning look from Ren, Poe turned down the thrusters. The guidance showed the fighters were finally turned all the way around so he was going to have to buy them some time to catch up. Of course, that meant they were going to have to avoid blasters for longer, but that was a piece of cake compared to what he was about to do.

“We’re not going to be able to take a hit from the Lancer,” Ren reminded as they watched the cannon on either side of it turn begin to warm up and move.

“Neither will they,” Poe watched the ties get ever so closer, before falling back into the hanger. “How are you doing back there Rey?”

If she replied, Poe couldn’t hear it over the sound of the Tie fighters opening fire. He let Ren call out commands as he dipped the ship sideways out of their line of fire. Not letting them get away again, the ties followed closely and matched ever turn he made. Poe just had time to respond to Ren’s warning before a large laser cannon from the Lancer threw a shot just past their port side. There was a satisfying sound of it colliding with one of the fighters, leaving them with only one.

“Convert all power to the thrusters!” Poe ordered as he fought to keep them moving toward the Lancer.

He didn’t even wait for Ren's glare before gunning it toward the lancer. The cannons alternately fired directly on them, but they couldn’t reload face enough to give Poe an actual challenge. The final Tie was smart enough to mirror the freighter’s movements but just behind enough for its own attacks to miss them. They were seconds away from flying straight into the blunt face of the Lancer and for a split second Poe realized he didn’t even know if their rust bucket was maneuverable enough for this kind of move. There was a good chance he was about to kill them all in a stupid attempt to show off to a man he hates. But it was way too late to question his life choices now.

With the flipping of the thrusters, Poe curved the ship until they were flying belly side toward the Lancer and getting only inches away from the bridge windows. Praying to whoever was listening, he cranked the ship as far right as it would allow before hitting the boosters and streaking down the broad side of the ship. The ship screamed in protest, but in the end, it followed Poe’s commands and kept them from death for one more day.

The Lancer, on the other hand, got a big face full of Tie fighter.

The explosion wasn’t as grand as he would have hoped, but it would have to do. Through the guidance system, both he and Ren watched as the Lancer’s control system was crippled in a large billow of fire. The ships movement halted as it went critical and was forced disengage all defense mechanisms and stall in the middle of space until help arrived. Both of them let out a sigh of relief as they cruised away from the First Order Ship and angled themselves toward the emerging planet of Celanon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you for reading and being patient with me. School's back in full screen so it's been interesting trying to find time to write. But I'm in a mood tonight so maybe I'll be able to wip out another chapter and update at a decent time. In the meantime, if you want to chat or send star wars memes back and forth you can always find me on Tumblr @Iaintnosidekick. Love you guys and go and see Black Panther!!!


	7. Chapter 7

Compared to the other planets she had gone to with Ben, Celanon looked like a paradise. The blue pebble of a planet sparkled as Poe flew them in closer to the capital city. Around the ship was nothing but lush green grassland that only disappeared when it dropped off into the depths of a dark ocean. Compared to Florrum, the city looked spotless and had actual dome buildings dotting the area. They were all short, uniform and made of glass so that they would reflect the sun in a brilliant flash of colors consecutively one block after the other. They were lined into neat rows separated by perfectly paved streets filed nicely into the separate speeder and pedestrian lanes. From the air, Rey could see that most of the mechanical traffic was sectioned off into the outer edges of the city as hundreds of freighters hovered around waiting for permission to land. 

“Celanon is part of the Hydian way,” Ben informed her as she leaned up to the front window to drink in as much of the view as she can. He was sitting in the now co-pilot seat behind her looking through his datapad and let Poe continue to fly the ship. “It’s a popular trade and travel route that marks the edge of the First Order’s territory on this side of the galaxy. It’s heavily occupied so we’ll have to be careful.”

As they got closer, Rey could see what he meant. Tie fighters circled the city in a vain attempt to corral incoming ships toward the shipyards that encompassed the city. A communication tower on the other side of the city stood high above the skyline and showed off a large and proud First order symbol on each side. The sight of it made Rey’s blood run cold as she was forced to think of the probably hundreds of stormtroopers crawling up and down the city’s streets. 

Ben’s warm presence was behind her before her thoughts could go any further. It was a trick he had picked up on their many adventures into dangerous territories. He assured her that he didn’t have to read her mind to know when her thoughts were turning south, but she wasn’t entirely convinced. He was just too good at not just knowing when she needed it, but also how much space—or lack thereof—the situation called for. Like somehow he knew flying into enemy territory only needed leaning next to her over the dashboard and nudging her slightly with his shoulder.

“This planet get random freighters all the time,” he assured while presenting her with a small smile. “They’ll hardly notice one more beat up rust bucket carrying three non-threatening civilians.”

“I’d hardly call you non-threatening,” she replied trying to echo his light mood. “It’s going to be a bit harder blending you in with a more decent crowd.”

“We could do something with that mop of hair,” Poe suggested with absolutely no shame of eavesdropping. “It is your most defining trait after that nose.”

Rey couldn’t help giggling at the sight of Ben rolling his eyes to pretend that Poe’s comment wasn’t worth the effort. Which she would put down as an improvement. “You are not touching my hair.”

“I don’t know,” she replied as she reached out to push a lock that had fallen over his eyes. It had always been messy, but even she had to admit it had grown to be especially unruly. “It has been a long time since we’ve been able to cut it.”

“You don’t have to cut it,” Poe chuckled, “We could just pull it back.”

“Yeah,” she laughed as the vision of her pulling Ben’s hair back on to the top of his head and into a bun became comically clear. “It would let everyone see your eyes.”

“That’ll make him look trustworthy,” Poe added before cracking up in a fit of laughter. 

Rey couldn’t stop herself from joining him as Ben looked on with red ears. She tried to shoot him a silent apology, but he only shook his head. Despite the annoyed look, he’d put on, she recognized the hint of amusement peeking out behind it. There was a small gleam in the corner of his eye that exposed his enjoyment of their laughter even if it was at his expense. His pride still wouldn’t break over something as silly as a hairdo, but even he needed a moment of levity after the day they had had. So, maybe she could read him too. 

“I think I’ll leave my hair the way it is,” he told them after they’d calmed. Holding his dignity tight, he sat back down in the pilot’s seat and busied himself with finding a place to land. “Did you finally fix the communications?”

“Yes sir,” she replied refusing to lose her grin, “We should be able to send out any and all messages to as far as half the galaxy.”

“Strong signal,” he noted. 

“This ship keeps going from embarrassingly old and gutted to tricked out and cutting edge,” Poe lamented from his seat. “There’s got to be some irony in there somewhere.”

“Not a bad find I’d say,” Rey beamed. 

“It’s definitely not the worst thing you’ve made me fly,” Ben teased before the comms hissed from an incoming signal.

Despite the heavy traffic coming in and out of the city, they were recognized and given permission to land pretty quickly. The tower monitor had taken the ID number from the stolen access card with no question and asked nothing more of them as they were directed to a pad on the west side of the city. Rey was surprised to find how few troopers were there to meet them at the bottom of the ramp or how they didn’t get more than a passing glance from the port master. Once Poe had given him some credits and ordered a few days stay with repairs, they were shoved into the city and left without so much as an ask for their identification. It all happened so quickly, she didn’t even realize she was walking into a First Order City until a Stormtrooper carelessly passed them in the street. 

“So much for high security,” Poe remarked as he looked over the huge mass of buildings they were about to just stroll right into. “You finally going to give us the full plan Benny?”

Despite his reding for what much have been the second time in one hour, Ben ignored the name and pointed north toward the tall tower Rey had seen from their landing. “That tower has access to all of the First Order’s most updated records. It oversees all information and supplies coming in and out of this city for First Order assets. If we want to find your friend and be able to rescue him that is where we need to go.”  
Look up at the tower from the city made it even more threatening than Rey had originally thought. It stood out against the gleam of the city with a harsh black surface. Its smooth sides reflected the Celanon sun and cast a bright glare into the shadow of the city temporarily blinding Rey after accidentally looking into it. It took a moment to blind away from the dark spot, but when she did she decided not to continue risking her sight.

“Looks easy enough,” Rey chuckled with an obvious lack of humor. 

“We don’t actually have to get in,” Ben continued after seeing even Poe’s face drop ever so slightly. “If we can connect to an access panel somewhere on the compound we should be able to gain access.”

Rey watched Poe about to ask about how exactly they could do that when a large vehicle caught her eyes as it turned the corner. It was a large militarized speeder armed with a total of five Stormtrooper plus an unseen driver. It didn’t look like a model Rey had ever seen, but she also had never been in the middle of First Order territory either. It stuck out amongst the rest of the mechanical traffic, but what caught Rey’s attention was the huge blaster cannon mounted to the top. She had never seen such a big gun not attached to a space cruiser and even then it was kind of overkill. The trooper mounted behind it kept the barrel pointed straight in ahead, but his helmet was bobbing as he scanned the sparse crowd. As it all got closer she couldn’t stop the small swell of panic bubble up from the back of her head which she quickly fought to push back down. Of course, it then didn’t when the trooper’s gaze passed over them for just a fraction longer than was comfortable. 

They all three stood frozen until the speeder had passed down the block and around the corner. Rey probably would have stayed longer, if Poe hadn’t started chuckling nervously. 

“Maybe we should find somewhere else to discuss logistics.” 

“Yeah,” Ben agreed with a small nod of his head. He let a similar chuckle escape his throat as he glanced over at her to silently check how she was doing. Her face must have displayed her small moment of anxiety because he gave her a soft smile and took her hand before saying, “Let’s get moving.”

* * *

The center of the city was full of people as the sky was ships. All forms of life walked up and down the Celanon streets doing everything from business, to shopping, to simply living. Because most of the crowd were visiting traders, they were all dressed in different garbs and colors traditional to their origins so no one stood out more than anyone else. Even the Stormtroopers looked oddly casual as they hung on the corners of blocks, politely gave directions and moved the crowd along. Despite literally everyone they saw being from different corners of the galaxy, they all seemed to radiate this sense of pleasantness that Rey couldn’t help herself from enjoying. 

She and Ben sat outside a clothing store that Poe had insisted he go into to update their disguises. He had claimed the Florrum dust still sticking to their boots didn’t match the cleanliness of the city and that he was going to have to correct that if he was going to walk around with the galaxy’s most wanted. Rey didn’t complain as it gave her an opportunity to just observe the new planet and try to assess its occupants 

“It’s crazy isn’t it?” she asked after what must have been ten minutes of silence.

“What is?” Ben replied without looking up from his datapad. 

“All these people,” she continued, “They’re just living under the First Order and they don’t even seem to mind.”

Ben glanced her way before deciding the conversation was worth his full attention and he put down the datapad. “This planet has been fought over and occupied for millennia. To them, the First Order is nothing more than the latest to do so.”

Rey nodded. She’d heard of planets in the core that were constantly being fought over. Places so valuable for either minerals or location that they hadn’t been given a moment of peace for almost forever. It wasn’t hard to believe that being part of a trade route would be similar, but it was odd that being controlled by the First Order would look so… peaceful. 

“Are all First Order planets like this?”

Ben didn’t answer her right way. When Rey turned to look at him, she saw he had put on a straight face to try to control the emotions her question had dragged up. She tried not to ask too much about his time with the First Order, but she could tell he had gotten better at answering her. It would take him a while but, he would never lie and he really tried to tell her as much as he could. 

“I didn’t get to stay on many planets,” he said slowly and with obvious care, “If I was on one, it was always for a mission and I was expected to get in and out as quickly as I could. From what I did see I would say that Celanon is more… lax.”

Rey smiled sadly. It was as she thought and the implications of his words weighed heavy on her chest. She could only imagine the memories that were running through Ben’s mind and she would have said something to comfort him a little bit, but then Poe came falling out of the store holding an arm full of fabric. 

“Alright everyone,” he announced from behind the mountain of cloth. “Lady’s choices are on top and gentlemen on the bottom.”

Giving Ben a smile and pat on the shoulder, Rey stood up to relieve Poe of some of his load. He had already changed into a sleek long sleeve with practical brown pants underneath. She still thought he looked odd without his jacket on, but it definitely wasn’t a good idea to wear such an obvious style into a First Order city. Holding up her pick, she found he had gone with a thicker fabric that looked more like a coat than a shirt. As she decided to just slip it over her current outfit, Poe began to share the information he had gotten. 

“The shop owner gave me some directions to a place where we can get a room. She said it’s just past the main center and that they don’t ask too many questions.” 

When her head had popped through her new article of clothing, she found it was refreshingly soft. Poe then handed her a pair of legging that she decided to shove into the large front pocket until later. “Is there a place we can eat first? I don’t think Ben and I have had anything since Florrum.”

“Yeah me neither,” Poe said before handing the last bit of the pile to Ben who was already inspecting the suggested outfit. “There should be plenty of places to stop for something.”

“Dameron,” Ben suddenly said. She and Poe looked over at him to see him hold up an absolute gigantic piece of cloth. “What is this?”

A big smirk broke across Poe’s face. He looked like he was seconds from laughing as he folded his arms and covered his mouth in a useless attempt to hide his amusement. “Yeah sorry. There wasn’t much in your size.”

Ben, however, did not look amused as he checked the tag. “This is for a Gabborin.”

“Like I said, not a huge selection,” Poe probably lied with a pointed look at Rey. She could only roll her eyes as they watched Ben put on what was basically a blanket with a hood. “Plus it covers your face! Now come on we’re burning daylight.”

Without another word, Poe turned on his heels and marched down the street. Ben let out a long, beleaguered sigh which finally made Rey laugh. He glanced at her looking too tired to even bother. He looked like he’d recovered from his bout of melancholy which she was going to have to thank Poe for later. She beamed up at his almost entirely covered face before taking his hand and guiding his way through the crowd

* * *

The first thing Kylo did upon walking in their room was take off that ridiculous jacket. He’d spend the good part of the day being led around the city by Rey in a piece of fabric that made him finally feel as wide as he was tall. It was as if he had doubled in size and could take up an entire door frame if he wanted too. Things were also not helped by the fact that it was woven out of a thick stringy fabric that together that increased his total body mass at least by a quarter. It covered him all the way down to his shins which threw off his balance and hood completely covered his face to prevent him from seeing anything but Rey’s boots. He hadn’t been so frustrated with an article of clothing since he was little and even the horrible formal clothing his mom had forced him into could not compare to the amount of hatred he felt toward that jacket. 

So, after only steps into the room the pilot had found for them, he ripped the cloth off of his body and threw it as far away from him as he could. There was a small snicker from Rey who had been well aware of his plight, but he firmly ignored her in protest. Instead, he served the room to see where the pilot had decided to set up them up for the night. 

It was a small area with nothing more than a bed and couch for furnishing. Two doors lined the wall they had walked passes, leading one probably to a ‘refresher and the other to a closet. The far wall had a grand window that looked over the busy city street and gave a straight view of the tower. Just on its own it was a hideous structure but compared to everything else around it looked like an unwanted growth.  
“Wow,” Dameron said once he had closed the door behind him, “Even their seedy Inns are pretty nice.”

Rey chuckled at his comment before plopping down on the room’s one bed. The padding of the comforter puffed up around her as laid back and sank into the lightly colored fluff. It was easily the most comfortable thing she had ever slept on. Her face said it all as she let her eyelids slide shut and lips tip up ever so slightly. A small push of guilt washed over him as he thought back at all the hard and disgusting places they had had to rest on their travels. Of course, she had never complained, but he had promised her the worst of her life was over. 

“So,” she murmured through the growing exhaustion that much have been keeping her glued to the bed, “How are we going to get into the tower?”

He reached into the bag he had brought in from the ship and pulled out his datapad. He sat down on the unclaimed couch and worked to bring up some visual aids. A couple of clicks in, Dameron deciding to take the other side of the couch. The pilot turned to face him as he pulled up a full schematic blueprint of the tower and blew it up into a hologram. 

“The Tower is surrounded by a couple of buildings to create the whole compound,” he began deciding it’d be easier just to dive straight into things, “While the tower itself houses all of the First Order’s current records, things like communications and star destroyer records can be accessed through any terminal on the compound.”

As he zoomed in on the picture to highlight the security terminals in each of the lower buildings, Dameron leaned in closer to the hologram. He got this calculating look on his face as he scanned the image floor by floor even asked to zoom in a couple of times. Even though Kylo had rightly assumed he was an arrogant flyboy, he was showing a lot of care and professionalism as he studied the compound and tried to comprehend what they were going to do. 

“This is a really detailed map,” he remarked after Kylo had pulled up a blueprint of the terminal specifically. “How did you get this kind of information?”

Rey rolled over at that. They made eye contact as they both asked each other the same question. They’d spend a lot of blood and energy keeping this thing safe and his first reaction was to keep it so no matter who it was. Sure Dameron had proven to be at the very least trustworthy but in the end… he was still resistance. Rey was running through the same thoughts, but her desire to be honest with the pilot shone through them all. Kylo bit his lip nervously. 

“Before Ben and I escaped the Supremacy,” Rey began as she finally sat up to take over the conversation. She maintained Ben’s gaze and didn’t speak until he gave her a reassuring nod. “We stole Snoke’s Datapad.”

The pilot's jaw actually dropped. His eyes glanced back over to the device still in Kylo’s hands with such dumbfoundment and awe, that is was a wonder that he was ever able to speak again. 

“That’s the supreme leader’s datapad?” he gasped completely shocked by the physical object he was looking at. 

“Yeah,” Kylo replied trying to enjoy the sight of the pilot being caught off guard, but ultimately just held onto the datapad a little tighter. “I’ve been going through it for as long as I’ve had it, but I still don’t think I’ve seen all the information it contains.”

“Wow, nearly all of the First Order’s basic records much be on there,” Dameron mused. Kylo could practically see him drooling as his mind spun a thousand hopes of power and secrets through his head, “Does it still get updated?”

“No,” he said trying to be as curt as possible, “a lot of what I’ve found have just been outdated status reports and ship schematics.”

“That’s still amazing,” the pilot continued, “Man if the general got her hands on that she probably would….” 

Thankfully, the man trailed off. He had finally noticed the growing discomfort between himself and Rey who was throwing concerned looks at Kylo. The novelty of the datapad had worn off on them a long time ago as they saw the real cost of something containing so much information. A particularly grisly experience with a bunch of thugs on Karazak came to mind and ran Kylo’s blood chill just thinking about it. 

“Sorry,” Dameron muttered. His face flushed ever so slightly before he produced a forced cough to officially drop the subject. “When are were you planning on going?”

Trying not to look too relieved, Kylo motioned back to the hologram and continued. “We’ll go tonight during the shift change. It’ll be the best time to slip in and out with the coming and going staff.”

Poe frowned. “You sure that has the right time? There have been a lot of protocol changes after what happened on the Supremacy.”

Kylo paused. “The exact times may be different but we can go early and watch the tower for the change.”

“Sounds kind of risky,” Rey interjected pursing her lips apologetically. “Shouldn’t we make the plan as airtight as we can?”

“Well we don’t want it too strict or they’ll be no room to improvise when something goes wrong,” Poe replied, “What about before the morning rotation? The staff will be tired from staying awake all night and it gives us a little wiggle room before the new troopers come in.”

“That would give us some time to sleep,” Rey agreed. “Better to be alter when sneaking into a First Order base.”

“And that way if we need to leave, we can be off planet before the sun comes up.”

They both turned to Kylo to gauge his reaction. He had leaned back and crossed his arms as he studied the hologram one more time. It wasn’t a bad idea. Lowering the risk was his number one goal on this whole mission of theirs and if waiting a few more hours kept them a couple more steps away from certain death, then he could swallow his pride this once. 

“Early morning will work,” he conceded which got a big grin from Rey, “But Rey you’re still going to have to be the one to remove the data from the terminal.”

“Not a problem,” she grinned, “Which one are we hitting?”

A couple of clicks zoomed the hologram to the outermost building nearest the landing pads. “This one here in the cargo hold. Even if it protocol has changed, it will be the least manned and may give you the most time at the terminal.”

“How is she going to get in there?” Poe asked.

“You two are going to enter in from this door,” he replied while highlighting a small door close to their target. “I’m too much of a risk, so I’ll help you get in and then be lookout just over here on the landing pad.”

They all nodded. It was a pretty basic plan, but as the Dameron had said, they’d definitely need wiggle room. 

A yawn escaped Rey as she leaned back down on the bed. “We should probably try to sleep now.”

“Yeah,” Kylo agreed as his exhaustion protested as he stood from the couch. He glanced back at Poe who he was surprised to see also rose. “You can take the couch.” 

Rubbing his head, the pilot shook his head and looked up sleepily at him, “I don’t mind the floor.”

“No, it fine,” he insisted, “You could use a good night’s sleep.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the man questioned, “You look like you haven’t had more than a couple of hours in the last week. Take the couch.”

“Look it’s really not that big a dead. Just take the-“

THUD

They both spun around together to see that Rey had rolled right off the bed and had taken the blanket with her. She had fallen on the opposite side as them so Kylo could only see her head as she fluffed up a pillow and got settled in her nest of blanket. But he could make out the smug look on her face as she buried herself in the fluff and called out to them. 

“Night boys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there ya go! As promised, a longer chapter containing nothing more than fluffy ^.^ We'll get back to the plot next time but I thought you all could use a little breather before anything crazy happens ;) thanks again for reading and pretty pretty PLEASE let me know how you're feeling about this! I love feedback SO much <3 love you guys!


	8. Chapter 8

The place was way too quiet for a military compound. 

Poe snuck into the First Order Warehouse with Rey only a few hours before dawn, and he was shocked to hear nothing but the sound of a single service droids whizzing around cleaning the floor. It was strange to walk between the stacks of metal crates and not have anything to mask his heavy footsteps beating against the pristine flooring. That alone was too loud for a covert operation, but when the vibrations traveled outward away from their point of origin, they were amplified by the endless number of metallic surfaces and resonated out through the hanger like a beacon. Even Rey’s expertly soft steps caused a rhythm of beats to cascade down the rows and ring against the dormant machinery above them. He could imagine the kind of chaotic chorus the hanger would create during the day. Crates dropping would turn into a blast and a handful of workers would sound like the mobilization of an army. No wonder the compound didn’t have a border defense. The sounds from the supply hanger alone must have intimidated even the bravest of Celanon’s citizens. 

When they reached the end of the row they had followed into the hanger, Rey’s hand flashed up. She cast a glance back at him to make sure he had recognized her signal, before motioning to crouch down behind the lower crates at the end. He gave her a reassuring nod before they both peaked around to survey the most inner region of the building. According to Kylo’s very convenient map, they should be in the hanger’s processing area. It would be the place where the majority of workers would be stationed during the day thus requiring an observation room to be housed a dozen feet or so above them. Sure enough, Poe spotted the darkened window looming over the far side of the cluttered production line. It looked to be as empty as the rest of the building and the schedule from the datapad had said there shouldn’t be anyone watching the facility after the evening shift, but they had all agreed to remain alert until they were inside. There he and Rey should find the control console which Rey claimed she could use to find Finn. 

Mutually agreeing that the coast was clear, he and Rey inched out into the open and crept their way toward the window staying close to the powered off machinery. Together it all looked like an automated assembly line, but without it being functional it was hard for Poe to figure out its exact purpose. Of course, all he cared about was that it provided decent cover. Rey led them on a crooked path as an extra precaution against anything that could be lurking behind the intimidating glass. There was a chance that if there was someone to see them dart between the assorted handling areas, they had heard them the moment they stepped on the reverberating floor. They could have already tripped the alarm and he and Rey were just wasting their time trying to be sneaky. But of course, that could have been Poe’s paranoia talking so he followed Rey’s sixteen point path until they made it outside of the door that led behind the window.

Up until this point, they agreed to let Rey’s experience lead them through the metallic environment. But with the possibility of something being behind a suspicious First Order door, Poe let his blaster be the first thing to push past it. He pressed it back just enough so that only his left eye would be in the line of fire. It was hard to determine many details about the contents of the room from his limited vantage point, but they had already committed to the “better safe than sorry” way of speaking. The only light in the room came from the few lamps outside the window and a single monitor running in the back. There were many monitors sitting in a row behind a window, but they were all as dark as the processing mechanisms outside. The only one on was that larger one set behind the first row and up against the back wall. It was tilted away from his vantage point, but the light from is monitor reflecting off the wall insured Poe that it was still operational. 

“It’s empty,” he whispered to Rey. 

Keeping her hand close to her lightsaber on her belt, she nodded and followed as he stepped the rest of the way through the door. Staying close together, Poe led them around the perimeter to double check for anything that could be hiding behind the monitors. They scanned the front monitor first, taking deliberately slow steps, and searched the whole space until they had reached the face of the main monitor. Both of their eyes fell on the much larger console and Poe made a mental note of how similar it looked to the model Kylo had shown them as an example.

“This looks promising,” he commented before stepping aside for Rey. 

She approached the object with as much care and skepticism one would expect from a medical professional. At first, she inspected the outer hardware to mentally compare it to Ren’s description just like he had and then did a double check for any obvious alarms attached. Only when she came to a satisfactory conclusion did she eagerly putting her hand on its control monitor. 

“This is it,” she declared with an anxious smile. The face displayed data Poe assumed was a routine evening program for normal hanger protocol. She pulled out the data stick Kylo had given her before they parted and hovered it over the compatible port. “Think this will trip any alarms?” 

Poe managed a nervous grin. “Don’t know. But it won’t matter if you do your thing fast enough.”

Rey awarded him with a mildly more confident gesture, before attaching the device to the console. They held their breath anticipating some sort of sound that would alert the entire planet of their presence. Thankfully, his fear was met with only silence and Rey let out a small nervous chuckle. Cracking her knuckles, she turned her full attention back to the stream of data and starting scrolling across the monitor. 

Despite seeing no immediate threat, Poe thought he felt the tension thickening. He decided to do another sweep of the room to keep his feet moving, but it didn’t help the heavy feeling in his chest. The clicking of Rey’s fingers may have indicated her process, but something about what she was looking though made him dread more and more about what she could possibly find. Of course, he hoped it would be Finn’s location, but he couldn’t stop his mind from drifting to the other options. Especially the more morbid ones.

“You seemed to have done this before,” he blurted out in an attempt to stop the spiral. Rey looked up at him looking surprised by his outburst but replied to him when she looked back at the monitor.

“It wasn’t too big of a jump.” She told him. Her clicks were a bit slower but they continued confidently as she spoke, “I figured out how to recover data from scrap on Jakku after I realized it was usually more valuable than the hardware. I still don’t know how to manipulate it, but I’m pretty good at picking through it.”

Poe watched her for a bit before continuing his lap. It wasn’t hard to imagine the grease ball girl Finn had talked about sitting down and learning more about the parts she was tearing through. He could basically see her hundreds of feet up in a crashed star destroyer stabbing away at a destroyed officer’s datapad in an attempt to get as many secrets out of it as she could. 

“Sounds fun,” he chuckled hoping to keep the lighter mood, “What’s the hardest thing you’ve hacked?”

“Um…” she paused for a second. Her index finger tapped on the side of the console as she considered his question, and only then did Poe consider the idea that she got most of her experience fairly recently. When it looked like she settled on a memory, her hands continued to work while she answered him, “While I couldn’t call this hacking, once Ben and I were trying to get off of Teth after a run in with a small platoon of Stormtroopers. They had locked the whole spaceport down and we needed a code to take off without being shot down immediately. So, Ben ambushed one of their droids and brought me its main processor. I had to extrapolate all of its memories and programming using nothing but a screw and rusted old datapad I lifted off of a scrap pile.” 

Poe laughed before he could stop himself. Rey’s eyes flickered up apparently startled by his amusement, so he shook his head in an attempt to reassure her.

“Sorry, but that sounded exactly like one of the stories Finn had told me about you,” he explained behind a toothy grin, “I guess I’m just surprised to find out he wasn’t exaggerating.”

When his words registered, a true smile tugged at her lips. “He talked about me?”

Wiping the tears out of his eyes, Poe nodded. “All the time. I think my favorite one was when you cut off a rathtar’s arms with just a door.”

When her cheeks turned pink in the light of the monitor, she put her head back down in an attempt reserve her humility. “It wasn’t that amazing.”

“Are you kidding? Now that I know all of Finn’s stories are true, you’re ten times as incredible as I thought you were.” 

For a second Poe though she saw her laugh at him, but then all amusement dropped from her face. Her eyebrows bunched up in the middle as she leaned into the monitor and called for him.

“Poe, come look at this.” 

The look in her eye had him behind her in seconds and following her finger point at the screen. It looked like extremely raw information to him, but Rey seemed to be reading it like it was second nature to her. 

“This is the signal you showed us back in Florrum.” 

The section Rey was pointing to looked no different than the other thousands of lines filling the screen, but he trusted her enough to pretend he did. “Great, so where does it say it was sent from.”

“It came from a Star Destroyer called the Finalizer, but that’s not the point,” she continued, “This text says it was an encrypted code sent from a higher level transmitter. It doesn’t say what the message was just that it went through their system.”

“Okay,” he nodded without really knowing what she was getting at, “So Finn was able to steal an officer’s datapad?”

“Maybe, but why was it encrypted?” She pointed out, “How would he have been able to get a datapad at all?”

“He may have known something about the ship’s ability to filter signals that we don’t,” he suggested. “Maybe he didn’t want them to intercept it before it could get to me.”

“Yeah but that type of programming takes some time. They wouldn’t leave him unwatched long enough to do even make sure it was only sent to you. Let alone-”

“HALT!”

Poe froze before he could even think about. The early sense of dread came rushing back over him like a wave as he slowly turned to face the door. There was a large K2 droid standing just inside the room pointing a large blaster right at them. If it had been any other mission, he probably would have already tried to draw his blaster and fire before the droid could process what had happened. But he’d stupidly dropped his guard and was now kicking himself repeatedly for it. 

“Drop your weapon,” the droid commanded motioning toward Poe.

He glanced back at Rey in the hope she’d already come up with a plan, but she looked just as startled as he did. Deciding that the best thing he could do was buy more time, he held up his blaster to let the droid watch him as he slowly set it down on top of the console in front of them. 

The droid’s eyes flickered as it registered the weapon and turned its attention back on him. Why it was focusing him and not Rey was oddly ridiculous to him, but if that could give them a slight advantage over the walking death machine Poe was not going to complain. 

“Hands up,” it ordered as it stepped toward them. When they compiled it was directly in front of them and looking even more menacing in the light of the monitor. “You are trespassing and will be disciplined immediately.”

The room seemed to move through a thick fluid as Poe saw the droid’s blaster warm up. He couldn’t even register what was about to happen before Rey reacted first probably on instinct alone. Just before the weapon was about to fire, she reached her hand out past his shoulder and pushed it without even touching it. She didn’t stop it from firing, but instead of striking him when it fired, it missed them by a couple of hairs and collided with the console they had just been speaking over. The whole machine exploded on impact, throwing both of them and the droid outward in a radius. 

Poe’s feet fell out from under him, and he was quickly acquainted with the reverberating floor. However, he didn’t lose consciousness and was able to watch his blaster get caught up in the commotion and land in between him and the discombobulated droid. The droid and been flow against the wall across from him and was clicking away trying to proses any damage. For the first time in what felt like forever, his head had caught up with the situation, and he was able to what he needed to do to get them out alive. Before the rust bucket could even try to stand again, Poe dove across the floor and grabbed his weapon as he slid by. Running purely on pure muscle memory, he aimed and fired multiple times at the droid’s thick chrome plated head. The first shot only knocked its head to the side, but by the fifth one, the whole machine had stiffened and sixth finally sent the metal body to slumping down against the floor with a loud clack. 

Poe was still laying on the floor panting when he heard Rey grown. His head shot back and nearly stopped breathing when she saw her laying on the floor with some blood coming out of her hairline. She looked like she’d been thrown against the far wall and struck her head on something as she slid down it. He rushed over to her fearing the worst, but she didn’t seem to like him worrying so much.

“I’m alright,” she assured despite the fact her left hand remained pressed against the side of her head. She swatted away his attempts to help her and sat up on her own. “Did the data stick get destroyed?”

Casting a glance at the burning remains of the monitor, Poe shook his head. “Probably.” 

She sighed but managed to stand up even though she refused to take his outstretched hand to help. “I’m fine Poe,” she told him again apparently annoyed that he could clearly see she had hit her head and was actually not fine. “We need to find Ben and tell him that we must be on the first shuttle headed toward the Finalizer.”

Looking about as sturdy as a leaf in a windstorm, Rey marched passed the destroyed droid and out the door. Accepting the fact that she was going to turn down any help he offered, all Poe could do was stay close in case she fell and try to talk her through what every crazy idea had popped in her head. 

“You want to sneak onto the most fortified star destroyer in the First Order Fleet?” He asked when they emerged back out into the main manger. It was just as empty as before and not even a glance at the window betrayed any hint of them being there. “What about all the questions we had about the signal? What did you mean about all of that?” 

“It doesn’t matter,” she persisted. The blood from her head was already drying against her temple, but it didn’t look too startling otherwise. Her words sounded as strong and deliberate as always, so it was impossible to assess any real damage with her going on as if she hadn’t been thrown head first into a wall. “Finn is on aboard and once they find that someone broke their monitor, the only way off this planet will be on one of their shuttles.”

“Okay sure, but don’t we need a plan?” he said hoping that would cause her to at least slow down a bit. 

“Ben will have a couple of ideas,” she told him with the utmost confidence and like it was the most logical explanation in the universe. 

Poe was about to try to talk her down a bit more, but as if he had materialized out of nowhere, Kylo came bursting out of one of the rows with literal booming steps. His head swiveled to find them wobbling across the metal room like unkempt droids. 

“Are you guys okay?” He called basically sprinting to them. 

Only a couple of feet away, Poe watched his eyes be drawn immediately to Rey only to widen when he saw the blood that by now was dripping past her ear. His already lighter tones face paled an extra couple of shades as he slid in front of her. 

“I’m fine,” she swore yet again despite letting him stop her. 

Without the forward motion, she began to sway to her left which Kylo responded immediately with an outstretched hand. Finally giving in, Rey grabbed his forearm with all of her fingers pressed firmly into his thin sleeve. With his free hand, the pad of his thumb touched the side of her chin in a gentle ask for her to turn her face. His eyes followed the red line on her face up over her temple to where is matted a section of her hair. His fingers traced the edged of it, barely putting any pressure where she must have struck the wall. Even so, when a small wince escaped her, he pulled his hand away so fast he could have been burnt. They met eyes to ensure the other way okay, and Kylo managed to give her a single affirmative nod. He didn’t look happy about the wound on the side of her head, but he didn’t look as concerned as he did a second ago. 

“A droid snuck up on us,” Poe suddenly said even though he hadn't been asked. He got an odd feeling that the both of them had forgotten he was there and the look he got from Kylo was not reassuring. His head snapped in his direction looking almost startled, but he quickly recovered and let him continue, “Rey said that Finn’s on the Finalizer.”

“We need to get on one of the supply shuttles going there,” Rey added sounding a little less frantic than before.

At first, Kylo didn't say anything. His lips curved down an extra inch before casting Rey a rather skeptical glance. That now familiar buzz of the force came radiating off of them the moment they made eye contact and Poe realized he'd been officially booted out of the conversation. He could only watch and imagine what they could be doing lost in the other person's eyes. A couple days ago, a sight like that would have freaked him out and reconsider the mental sanity of both parties. But somehow he'd grown... okay with the idea. He still comfortable naming it, but he could recognize it. Especially when one of Rey's hands moved to take Kylo's other one. 

Poe nearly jumped when Kylo finally broke the silence and everyone returned to reality. “The Finalizer should be one of the first departures from a supply hub like this,” he announced more for Poe than anyone else. “I already scouted out the shipyard and the shuttles seem to be minimally guarded. If we get into one of their cargo holds we shouldn’t have a problem getting onto the Finalizer.” 

Giving Kylo as big a smile as she could manage without hurting her head, Rey readjusted his hold on her so that she could easily hold onto his elbow as she turned them around to walk out. Kylo complied with no complaints and had led her halfway out the door before Poe could even realize exactly what they were doing.

“So we’re really going to do this?” Poe asked as he trailed behind them. 

The weight of their mission and what it meant suddenly his him like a ton of bricks and not the first time he got that new feeling in his check. The one that hurt to recognize and terrifying to consider. This was going to be it and if they failed...

Kylo must have noticed his sudden turn of mood because he actually turned back to looked at him and gave him a reassuring nod.

“It’s time to go get him back.” 

 

* * *

Finn’s voice wasn’t going to last much longer. He knew it wasn’t going to be all that reliable after a couple days of complete silence, but he had assumed it wouldn’t have taken this long to get a Stormtrooper’s attention. He’d started screaming the moment he had gotten his next meal so that he could be sure he’d gotten the attention of at least one of them. The idea his mind spirals had produced was to say something so ridiculous that maybe the person attached to those gloves would look inside to check on him or maybe try to shut him up. There was a slight pause when his first said something, but the gloves quickly disappeared after they dropped his ration and panel closed with a disappointing his. Apparently, that one was too disciplined to break orders so Finn had to keep yelling and hope that his outburst would at least warrant them to spread little gossip to the other troopers in the cell block. Even if the First Order’s Stormtrooper program had a mostly flawless brainwashing technique, it couldn’t fix a person’s tendency to get bored. The trick for Finn was to give them something interesting to talk about. 

He decided that his first chain of ramblings were going to center around Hux. He was an easy enough target and there was no way a trooper couldn’t relate to the story about the one time Hux had knocked into him and almost sent him falling down a mechanical shaft. The man was a prominent part of their upbringing and there were many times when Finn remembered him being the butt of a joke when they thought no one was listening. How could they resist teasing the officer whose face turned as red as his hair any time he raised his voice? Not to mention his tendency to overcompensate his then lower status by being ten times as harsh as the rest of their superiors. It was kind of cathartic for Finn to shout out all the frustration’s he’d built up in his youth. It would have been even better if he knew someone was listening. 

By the time he heard his next meal slide in through the panel, his voice was as dry as the time he had crashed on Jakku. He was in the middle of a rant about how trooper meals contained only the exact amount of nutrients needed to survive when he saw the metal compartment had opened, but no gloves had appeared. He hadn’t touched the rations from the morning and he watched as the person behind the wall contemplated what to do about it. Troopers may not have been allowed to think for themselves very often, but Finn knew that their number one thing that was burned permanently into their head was to maintain order. He could practically see what they were thinking as they looked down on his obvious sign of defiance. Prisoners were expected to cooperate completely with the First Order and even the smallest deviations caught to not be tolerated. It was the Stormtrooper’s job to put him back in line even if they haven’t gotten a direct order to do so. And so, after a couple of beeps and the hum of machinery, the door appeared. 

It may have been the complete isolation he had endured, but the first thought that came to mind when he first saw that familiar white uniform was that they looked kind of short. The door had materialized to the left of where Finn sat on the cot and he watched the pristine soldier as they walked in with plenty of space over the top of their shiny helmet. Their blaster was gripped firmly by the same glove he had been obsessing over, but it remained hooked to the belt on the side of the figure. Their stride slowed only a couple of steps into the cell and they halted completely an only few feet in front of him. 

Finn's words had faded the moment the door had opened and they refused to materialize now that his goal was literally within arm’s reach. He found he could only force his eyes up to the emotionless mask and make them try to look back the plastic. To will himself to meet the eyes of the trooper, and pray they could see him as well. That they would recognize him and do something. Anything. He wanted them to scream and threaten them with their weapon. Or simply run out of the room, and demand an explanation from their superior. They could even just take too long and cause another guard to come check on them. Anything that would draw more attention. Anything that would end his status as just another prisoner in a cell. 

But, this trooper was just too well disciplined.

“Eat your rations,” the voice commanded as they dropped the meal bread and hydration pill in his lap. “This is your only warning.”

Finn felt like he had been hit by a speeder as he watched them turn on their heels and march out of his cell in cold indifference. They didn’t even look back when they shut the door, crushing him like a falling mountain. He’d worked so hard to get their attention, and it didn’t even earn him so much knowing pause. He didn't mean for it to affect him so much, but nonetheless, it didn’t take long for something wet to fall from his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy Crap where did March go??? ':D I'm so sorry for the long wait guys. Life just got busy and them WHOOPS it been over a month! At least I can say that this is definitely a longer chapter and if you stick with me next time, you'll be rewarded with something a little more fluffy <3 Thank you so much for being patient and let me know what you think in the comments :P Love you guys!


	9. Chapter 9

There was no way Rey was going to admit how to bad her head hurt. 

The sound of her skull hitting that thick plated wall off the console room still rang in her mind, and she had a bad feeling it wasn’t going to stop for a while. Back on Jakku, she had bruised her cranium plenty of times while fighting with another desperate scavenger or falling from a wreck that wasn't as steady as she assumed. Her past experiences made sure she was well aware how serious a blow to the head could be, but she just couldn’t help the stubborn defense she built up over the subject. It was a natural reflex for her to push through the pain and ignore any and all outward sources that told her to give up. 

Before she met Finn there never was anyone to really care about her well being, and the jarring change only tripled when Ben came into her life. One time when they were fighting against a warlord's gang, one of them got a lucky hit and knocked her out cold. Ben practically had to force her to lay down to give her head a chance to heal. But even then she was up after only a day to find that same man and return the favor right into his jaw. It felt worth it in the moment, but the ensuing escape forced her to let Ben take care of her for at least a week.

So, maybe this once she let Ben carry her into the shuttle instead of attempting to fumble around herself. It was simply practical to let him do the walking when her feet seemed to have forgotten the concept of solid ground. Even if his footsteps were loud and clunky now that they had to carry her extra weight, they would be nothing compared to if she lost her balance and fell over one of the hundreds of stacked metal boxes filling the room. 

The cargo hanger was tightly packed with the shiny cubes in a way that maximized efficiency and minimized the need for empty spaces. The height they reached was good for staying out of sight, and for deterring Stormtroopers from mingling around, but not for a stumbling Rey to sneak through. So after putting up a halfhearted protest to keep up appearances, she let herself get swept up into Ben’s arms and trusted him to not bump her legs around too much. 

The three of them hid crouched behind a large collection of crates backed up against the shuttle wall until the loading door closed. Ben sat her down next to him as they waited for takeoff, but she stayed in the crook of his arm in case they needed to sneak away quickly. It might have been her dizzy brain, but she couldn’t help thinking how easy it was to get inside and out of site without being spotted by anyone on the platform. Sure Stormtroopers would be Stormtroopers the rest of the base was practically deserted, but it seemed highly impossible that two men could just walk into a First Order Shuttle holding a semi-responsive woman without getting at least a second glance. The Force had gone quiet for her after the explosion, so Rey could only assume Ben was manipulating it in a way that clouded their movements from anyone that could glance their way. 

It took another couple of minutes before the sound of the engine roaring to life reached their ears. The crates rattled to the motion of the ship slowly lifting up and angling back to begin its ascension through the atmosphere. Ben’s hand reached higher on the metal surface in front of them as it threatened to slide off the one below it. The whole room to Rey seemed like a bunch of disconnected pieces ready to burst apart at even the smallest of breezes. However, the weight of the crate and the precision of the First Order stacking technique kept it all together and soon the ship leveled out and shot into light speed with nothing more than a momentary jolt.

Poe soon left them to find a more suitable hiding spot for himself. The hundreds of crates left little room for three stowaways to fit together comfortably, so he opted to find his own space closer to the front. 

“I’m going to keep an eye on the crew,” he explained as he squeezed himself out of the tiny space. Before disappearing, he turned back to the two with an odd gleam in his eye and winked, “Don’t have too much fun without me.”

Rey sent a glare toward the spot Poe had vanished, but Ben hardly seemed fazed. In fact, he sighed as he used the extra space to lean back against the ship’s wall and stretch out his arms a little bit. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any room left for his legs, so they were forced to bend up in front of him and pushed out only as far as the boxes would allow. Rey, thankfully, was a bit smaller and had plenty of room to sit shoulder to shoulder with him on the wall and cross her legs underneath each other. It was a surprisingly cozy area to be stuck in for a long shuttle ride. Once she had relaxed into the position, she closed her eyes and let her head lean back so it could be soothed by the cool surface of the ship. 

“How’s your head?” Ben asked after they had been settled in their positions for a while.

“It's fine,” she lied more out of habit than anything. Now that there wasn’t anything to distract her, she had been practically feeling the knot above her temple growing. The whole side of her skull ached like the entire shuttle had been dropped on it, which was not helping her attempts to keep her thoughts straight. At least, for now, her sight was intact, which allowed her to see Ben’s glare when she opened her eyes. 

“You know you can’t lie to me,” he told her in the same flat tone he got whenever she got defensive over an injury. Which of course, she could only respond with the same amusement it all ways evoked from her.

“I’m fine enough for you not to worry,” she told him through a toothy grin.

A small twitch brought the corner of his mouth up for a quick second, but he was too persistent to let it threaten his concerned demeanor for long. “Like that’s ever going to happen.”

She gave him a stronger smile but decided to turn her focus forward to avoid his gaze. This exact interaction had to have happened at least a dozen times since they began their little adventure. No matter how good they were at hiding and defending themselves, mistakes were going to be made and someone was bound to get hurt. Who varied depending on the mistake, but Rey had been on the other side of this conversation enough times to know exactly what Ben was thinking.

“How far is the Finalizer?” she blurted out when gaze became too warm on her skin. It was a poor attempt at distracting him, but it was all her mushed brain could produce at the moment.

“As long as it was to get here from Florrum,” he told her before jumping over her effort to distract him without even a small acknowledgment, “I still have some Symoxin if you want.”

Rey groaned. They’d picked the drug up for Ben after he had dislocated his shoulder falling from a building. The bottle was practically full since Ben refused to take any more once he was finally clear of its many strong the side effects. If Rey remembered correctly, the drug had made it impossible for him to stay awake for longer than an hour and it jumbled his brain so much he didn’t make much sense when he was awake. She recalled one time when he was awake he kept babbling about how pretty she was and he asking her to run away with him despite her insistence that she already had. It was one of the few pleasant memories they created together, but Rey didn’t think it was one that particularly needed repeating.

“It won’t let me fight,” she concluded in as steady a tone she could manage. “I won’t be much help if I can’t remember how to turn on my ‘saber.”

With that, a smirk finally escaped his lips. The same memory must have been playing through his mind and the idea of her on medication would be admittedly humorous in any other situation. “I can give you a smaller dosage.”

“No,” she stated firmly. Her head protested her refusal of relief, but her stubbornness remained the stronger of the two, for now. “Besides, aren’t you saving that for an emergency?”

When she glanced his way, she was met with the most incredulous glare she had ever seen from those dark eyes. It was like his protective instinct had finally boiled over and he was done playing their little game.

“We’re about to sneak onto the most important Star Destroyer the First Order’s entire fleet,” he stated blankly, “I think this would qualify.”

With that, all the witty remarks she could say simply evaporated from her tongue. His gaze displayed a hint of the seriousness she hadn’t seen in what felt like an eternity. It was something that said he wasn’t kidding anymore and that his stance was not going to waver even in the slightest. 

The reality of their situation began to creep up from the pit of Rey’s stomach, but it was harder for her to push it back down this time. Somewhere she knew she was about to charge headfirst into a horde of First Order goons who all wanted her dead, but she more prominently recognized that dwelling on such realities could churn up a reaction that would be far worse than a head injury. If she lost control of her power on a Star Destroyer, there was no telling what damage she could wrought. Especially if she was further fueled by desperation to save her friends and a mind that wasn’t sturdy enough to hold it back. 

Ben recognized that. He was always well aware of every situation they were in and all of its likely outcomes. There was no variable he hadn’t examined a thousand times, and assess its danger to them or their mission. Not because he was afraid for his or other’s safety, but for her resulting state of mind.

“I’d rather mediate,” she practically whispered to escape her reverie. 

A small smile dissolved his hardened mood, and a gentle nod assured her that he would accept her alternative. So, instead of shuffling through the bag still strapped over his holder, he took it off and straightened his back further up the metal wall. A couple of grunts escaped his throat as he attempted to cross his legs in the small space, but in the end, he managed to squeeze them close enough to fit. She followed suit but realized there was no way Ben was going to be able to turn so that they could assume their usual back to back position. He was already a step ahead of her and substituted their lack of contact with an outstretched hand balanced on his tightly bent knee. She smiled at it and, after situating herself so that the thumping of her brain would be at a minimum, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and laced her fingers between his. 

The force came rushing back through her without any hesitation. It was a good thing there was a wall behind them, otherwise, Rey was sure she would have been knocked back by the sheer strength of the power flowing through her from Ben. It was acting like liquid moving through a barrier in a desperate need to equal out the gradient of the solute. In all things, the force needed to maintain balance and the connection between her and Ben was no exception. No matter how much she wound protested.

After they had come to something resembling equilibrium, the only movement left in Rey’s focus was the rising and falling of Ben’s breaths. They set a slow and steady pace for her to match and soon the only desire she had was to a line herself with him, bother literally and metaphysically. Through their clasped hands, she could easily feel the swash of feeling he had built up since the last time they meditated on her ship. He was concerned, as always, about her wellbeing and pressed with the conflicted feelings of needing to protect her, but not wanting her to feel controlled or like he doesn’t know she can do so herself. Exhaustion permeated through his bones not only due to the physical exertion of the past months but also from being constantly alert the past couple of days for her, himself and now Poe, whom he arguably didn’t want to see hurt either. Under all of those stronger thoughts, to her surprise, Rey could feel a selfish sort of contentment to have even the smallest opportunity to sit with her despite and hold her hand again. 

The last bit made her smile, but she soon felt his reactions to her own emotions running through their connection. He kept them close as to not disturb her, but she couldn’t help but focus in on his response to the many shades of feelings pressed up inside her like a bottle. Most prominently was the fear infecting every other thought in her head. Fear of losing control, harming her loved ones, and facing the people she has hurt in the past. There was no covering her anxieties in this state or how they were only amplified by the injury leaving her thoughts vulnerable and raw. 

However, she felt no need to hide those feelings from Ben. She was practically relieved to have him inspect them with nothing but gentleness and curiosity. She knew he had already suspected this underlying emotion but that he also felt no need to lecture of the usual rhetoric about controlling it. Instead, he gathered up as much of her fear as he could and molded it into something smaller. Rey could feel him soothing it down to something manageable for her to hold on her own, no matter the bodily damage to her head. She did not hear but so much as feel the encouraging words he whispered and reacted to each one as if he had said them to her. To say it was relaxing for her would be an understatement, and even Ben seemed to calm as he was able to satisfy his near instinctual need to help her. 

She didn’t know when it happened, but when Rey opened her eyes she was not on the First Order Shuttle anymore. Instead, she was standing atop a grassy cliff looking over a glistening ocean. The air was warm with only the faintest of motion dancing through her suddenly freed hair. It looked so inviting and familiar but the name of the place seemed to run from her grasp every time she tried to utter it. She knew that she had been or would go to that place and it was incredibly important, but she found she didn’t really care to find its name. It was too peaceful to be disturbed by anything as harsh as language. In fact, Rey didn’t want to say anything at all. Just look across the water and imagine that anything could be behind the horizon. 

“Do you know this place?”

With a squeeze of her hand, Ben appeared standing the same distance away from her as he had been sitting. His eyes were cast out across the sea as well, but they didn’t seem to recognize it as strongly as she did. Actually, he wasn’t there as strongly as she was. Something about him made him thin and unreal. Like he would disappear if she looked at him too hard. When she looked down, their still locked fingers were the only parts of themselves that were truly there together. Firm and solid in a way that assured her that they would never come apart, even if they themselves were forced to. 

“I think so, could this be a vision?”

No response came immediately. Rey tore her eyes away from their melded hands to study his face instead. The times they had spent hiding close together had given her plenty of opportunities to memorize his features and recognize when even the smallest changes in his expression happen. 

Here, however, she saw him as she has never been able to before. He was...pleased. The hard lines of his face and the ever-present conflict in his eyes had completely disappeared, and he was left with only the soft reflection of contentment. The long tips of his hair fluttered forward in the gentle breeze of the landscape and the far-off sun cast away all hint of shadow from his face. He looked striking, and her heart skipped a beat when his gaze turned to her. 

“I do not think so. A memory perhaps.”

Rey couldn’t speak. Her eyes were transfixed on his like nothing else had ever mattered. The otherworldly view of her side was long forgotten as she lost herself examining every feature of the man before her, while also remembering to breathe. 

“We were never here together.”

He nodded and lost a part of his happiness as he did. They didn’t have to say anything to know the other was suddenly hit with grief for the loss of a memory they never even shared. Rey had a pain in her stomach as she wished so desperately that the memory was different. A memory she couldn’t say she ever really had but suddenly felt so empty without him in it. It was an impossible wish, but it wetted her eyes nonetheless.

“No, but we’re here now.” 

A tear escaped her eye. It fell down fast and left the gate open for more liquid to cascade down her cheeks. She knew she should feel ashamed of them, but she had never been afraid to cry in his presence before. Even when they were enemies, tears were nothing more than an expression of the other’s deepest feeling and were to be respected and not mocked. Here it was especially true, as she saw his own eyes mirror hers.  
“I have a bad feeling I can’t escape. Like something’s going to happen that we won’t be able to change.” 

Her other hand was quickly taken and filled. They were soon reflections of each other, both in mannerism and tears. Their faces were open and bare as the world turned cold around them and completely forgotten.

“I feel it too.”

Their tears grew so hot on their faces it was almost unbearable. The chill of the air could do nothing as the two scalded themselves with their own heart’s deepest fears. 

“What are we going to do?”

One of them caused their intertwined hands to lift up so the back of Rey’s hand was flushed between her cheek and Ben’s palm. Using the back of his thumb, he pushed her stream away and stopped the flow of terror with a small, strong smile. 

“We’ll do it together.”

And then, as quickly as it had appeared, the landscape shattered into nothing more than the shuttle’s hanger. Rey’s breath had left her completely and her chest doubled over in many short shallow gasps. The world she had just been in was still swimming behind her eyes so strongly that she could nearly count the blades of grass against the sun. It was all she could think about as she fought to reintroduce air back into her body. Even when she was able to make her lung function properly again, she couldn’t get enough of substance and sat heaving for what could have been forever. Through her haze, she could hear Ben going through similar problems, but remembering to keep a tight grip on her hand. 

When their breathing became steady again, the two sat in silence. Rey could only imagine the swarm of confusion and hurt running through Ben’s mind as his gaze hollowed out into nothing. Her blood felt like it was vibrating with the return of the force and the rush of adrenaline that the experience had caused. Where her mind had been fogged before, it now buzzed with thousands of thoughts shooting through her without time to even be recognized. It was a lot, even for her, and kept her from realizing that she was physically trembling. 

Ben looped their hands over her shoulders and leaned her into him. She gave no protest as she was enveloped by his arms and disappeared underneath his blanket of warmth. His heart raced in her ear at a pace nearly as fast as hers, but his body had stiffened where hers had shaken. The up and down motion of his chest was labored as his lungs struggled to bring in enough oxygen, but what it did bring in sounded clear. The tension of his muscles lessened the longer she was tucked against his shoulder and eventually his breathing steadied. 

Rey however, found her hands gripping his tighter. The harsh sense of foreboding was still crawling in the depths of her bones, sending shivers up her spine to be amplified out through her limbs. Something that resembled a meaning crept in the back of her mind, but she was too afraid to give it more form. It was faint, but it was real. And it caused Rey to tightened herself further around Ben, to assure herself that he was still alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well isn't that a makeup for the month-long hiatus! A BIG thanks to @fangirlintheforest for helping me with this chapter. She's basically the reason I'm even confident enough to post this story in the first so go give her some love! I tried to give you guys a little something before the plot strikes so I hope you enjoyed this chapter! PLEASE let me know what you think and maybe give any predictions you have for what's coming up for our space dorks :P Love you guys so much and remember! Comments make me write when finals are creeping up and all hope seems lost ^.^


	10. Chapter 10

Im real sorry, but Im not going to be able to finish this one. The premise is too canon divergent for my taste now and Im just too busy with wrapping up school to give you something you deserve. But I wanted to give you a clear “this is dead” announcement and tell you where this was all going to go. In bullet form:

•the rescue of Finn was going to go wrong  
• they’d find him getting dragged out in the hall by the rouge storm troopers completely by accident but still manage to get him away and prevent them from killing him like they planned.  
• of course this sets off the alarm and they have to get off the ship through a private hanger that only high officers can use.   
• they get cornered, and to make sure everyone gets out safely Ben stays behind to fight off the stormtroopers and destroy the shields so Rey, Finn and Poe can escape.   
• In the fight Poe promised not to take Rey back to the Resistance but inevitably they end up finding them adrift in Hux’s personal vessel.   
• Rey is immediately locked up despite the protests of Finn and Poe but Rey ends goes willingly.   
• back with Ben, Hux is being all too smug but will not settle with only one half of the most wanted duo in the galaxy.   
• thankfully Ben literally has no idea where Rey is, but Hux is familiar enough with their force bond to want to try something unorthodox.  
• Some random Explanations I would have put else where  
-Finn wasnt in the jail system because Hux was trying to hide him from the other officers  
\- He’s not in charge yet, but he believes by capturing Ben and Rey he’ll become Supreme Leader for sure  
-So he’s really mad when his Finn bait tactic only gets him Ben and becomes a compete disaster  
• Rey however, sits quietly in her makeshift cell when Leia inevitably comes to visit.  
• she’s cold and hostile which is what Rey expected and dreaded.   
• here I would have given you the first version of events on “what happened” that caused Rey and Ben to be on the run from both the First Order and the Resistance  
\- so here instead of Ben asking Rey to rule with him in episode 8, he agrees to leave the first order and go with her  
-the rest of the ending is basically the same except Luke’s fight entails taking down all those walkers and freaking Hux out before dying in the same beautiful way.   
\- when the Resistance boards the Falcon at the end, Leia is shocked to find her son hiding in the cockpit and agrees he should stay hidden until they are safe and have the time to figure everything out.   
\- However when they do that and rumors start to spread, most of what’s left of the Resistance is not happy  
\- Ben still secluded himself in the Falcon, which is where the soldiers found him and began an altercation   
-What happened was that this fight caused an explosion on the Falcon, destroying it and killing five Resistance Fighters  
-Thats when Ben and Rey ran off leaving it pretty clear that Ben killed everyone  
•Leia interrogates Rey asking where Ben is and Rey tells her the truth, but that doesn't make the General any less sympathetic.   
• Else where, Finn and Poe meet up with Rose who takes some convincing, but comes around on trying to help Rey escape  
• Rey while she’s in her cell, gets a force vision of Ben. Though its not gentle like we are familiar with. She’s ripped out of her reality and snapped down in front of Ben who is tied down to an interrogation chair.  
• She cries out and tries to interact with him, but Ben gives her a look that displays his panic at her arrival.  
• Hux reveals himself behind Rey and notices Ben’s sudden shift in mood.   
• He asks whether or not Rey was there he takes Ben’s silence as a yes  
• Rey can see and hear Hux as he begins addressing her and threatening Ben if she doesn't agree to turn herself over. He even pulls out Ben’s lightsaber and gets is a little to close to Ben’s skin  
• She’s freaking out and begs Ben to tell Hux she’s being held by the Resistance, but Ben wont let her risk herself for him.   
• Hux knows Ben’s holding back, so he gives Rey a deadline and a way for her to communicate with him and says he’ll sweeten the deal by finally leaving the Resistance alone after she turns herself in.   
• Hux then severs the connection by cutting Ben’s hand off  
• Both the force of being knocked back into her body and the intense emotion she was feeling send a force shock blasting out of her body, destroying the whole cell she was in (plus the couple surrounding her)  
• Resistance people start running as they think Rey was trying to escape but thankfully Poe, Rose and Finn were nearby to actually help her escape  
• They are running toward a ship when Rey runs into Leia.   
• She starts going on about them being traitors and how Ben betraying them for the second time was her last straw, when Rey yells back the truth.   
-She was the one that destroyed the Falcon.   
• Finn, Poe and Rose get her on the ship where she elaborates on what she meant  
\- when the Resistance Fights came to kill Ben, she was with him.   
\- they started firing and got so closed to killing Ben that it was the first time she had lost control of the force.   
-It went off like a bomb destroying everything except for herself and Ben whom she was holding on to.   
\- She was in complete shock, but Ben had enough sense to know what the would happen to her and convinced her to run away with him  
•She continued saying that was why they had to run because she was afraid of hurting anyone else and that Ben was the one who helped her keep it together   
• They were shocked but reassured her they still loved her and knew she would get a hold of her powers  
• Unconvinced, Rey tells them about Hux’s message and that she was going to turn herself in for the good of everyone.   
• They all protest, saying they can rescue him, and even if she lets them come up with a plan Rey is not convinced.  
• Ben, passed out and with a fresh stump, wakes up to a normal force bond, where Rey is sitting alone on the ship  
• Ben states the obvious that she’s coming and Rey explains she’s too dangerous to be around people without him.  
• He calls her on her crap and says she’s strong and doesn't need him and its all very romantic in a sad sappy way and they see if they can force kiss but she disappears just a second after their lips meet.   
• Still trying to keep this fiasco under wraps, the meeting is off the books and Hux is only accompanied by a small band of stormtroopers.  
• Ben’s there too as if Rey didnt show up they would have just killed him there  
• what ever plan Poe came up with fails and Rey ends up giving herself up willingly  
• However before the doors seal their fate, Rey gets her confidence back (probably from a Ben pep talk) and force blasts them intensionally back open.   
• She frees Ben and they take down the troopers and captures Hux  
• They give him to Poe who will give him to Leia as a beginning to mend wounds though Rey knows it’ll be a long way to go.   
• Finn agrees he’s tell Leia the truth about what happened on the Falcon and who her son has really changed for the better.  
• Rey and Ben leave still on their own but with a new determination to take down the rest of the First Order and bring back the force to the galaxy. 

Thank you all for your support if you’ve made it this far and I hope this was a least better than leaving you not knowing

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my first attempt at a Reylo Epic. I've been sitting on this thing for a while but after a confidence boost/quick look through from @fangirlintheforest I finally found the nerve to post it. Yes, I am aware that the new movie comes out in three weeks and it will finally prove and/or debunk the theory this is based on, but here we are anyway! This is all in good fun and hopefully will be a great way to get hyped for the Last Jedi. Please leave comments about anything you like, anything you don't or anything you just want to react to. I'm always free to fangirl with at @Iaintnosidekick on Tumblr and am excited to take this crazy ride with you. Expect updates to be clumped (I do really well for the first couple chapters, don't for a long time, suddenly get really good again, and repeat) but hopefully it won't be too bad! Thank you all so much and I hope you enjoy the ride! <3<3<3  
> -May


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